Taking Chances
by Jenn0509
Summary: Sequel to Nightfall Is Bliss. Lilly is gone, and Seth is desolate. A boundary and parents are between them, but Lilly and Seth will stop at nothing to be together. The real question is, how long do they really have? Danger is near. SethXOC R
1. Without You

Disclaimer: I own Lilly, her family, Jason/Jaden, and little Lysander. I don't own the song (Almost Lover By: A Fine Frenzy, I suggest you listen to it while reading.), or any Twilight characters.

Hello to all, this is the first chapter of Taking Chances.

If you haven't read Nightfall Is Bliss, than stop, go to my profile, and read it first. THIS IS PART II. Please, don't spoil it for yourself, if books were meant to be read end to beginning, than we'd print them that way.

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So, You've read Nightfall. I hope you enjoy this part as much as you did the first. I've been told that this sounds like an emo Seth, but I do not intend for him to be that way, so if that's what you're looking for, I'm sorry. These first two chapters are Seth and Lilly's individual reactions to separation and grief. I am going on vacation, so I decided to post this first chapter before I finish the second chapter. I hope to have internet this weekend, but I'm not sure. When I've finished the second chapter, I'll post it as soon as I can.

As always, reviews are much appreciated. Criticism as well.

Enjoy!  
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**Without You**

**Chapter One**

_**Seth Clearwater**_

I thought I was at home when I woke up, but everything in the house looked older. This must have been another dream. Excitement filled me.

"Lilly! Megan!"

Instead, my sister walked into the room holding a carton of ice cream, "What are you screaming about, Seth?"

"Where is Megan?"

She rolled her eyes at me, "Who's Megan?"

"Megan!" I exclaimed, "My daughter!"

Leah snorted, and ice cream spewed out of her mouth, "You? A daughter? Since when?"

"Leah, don't joke! Megan, my daughter, she's got dark brown hair and my eyes. She's about eight years old. Ring any bells?"

"Don't make me laugh, Seth. You know as well as I do, that we'll never have kids. I can't, and you're a prude. I'll tell you, you're never going to find your imprint if you keep staying here. I've been telling you for years that you need to leave for a little while. The pack doesn't need you that badly."

I slumped into an armchair that I didn't recognize, "What are you talking about? I did imprint."

Leah sat next to me, bouncing up and down, "Who is she? When did you meet her?"

"Lilly. I met her at school."

"Oh, puh-lease. You haven't been to school in years. Really, Seth what's going on with you?"

"I don't know." In my mind, I saw the image of the beautiful little smiling girl. I tried to hold onto it, but it faded until she was gone.

Leah started chattering and I could only stare at my hands. Lilly and Megan weren't here. I wanted this dream to be over. After what felt like hours, I shot up out of bed.

_Your fingertips across my skin  
The palm trees swaying in the wind  
Images_

The room smelled of Lilly, and I relished in it. Every fear brought up in my nightmare was corrected with her scent.

I remembered last night, falling asleep with her beside me. She had felt so good. I'd never thought I'd get so lucky to have a mate that I'd have to hold back with. Every move I made, she met me with equal enthusiasm.

_You sang me Spanish lullabies  
The sweetest sadness in your eyes  
Clever trick_

At that moment, I realized consciously that she wasn't there. I got up, and made a circuit around the house, to no avail. After a second circuit, still no Lilly. Going back to my room, I sniffed again. Her scent was fading; she'd been gone a while.

That wasn't a big deal, she probably just didn't want her parents to get any ideas, and so she went home.

I walked through the kitchen and asked my mom if she'd seen Lilly, "No, not since she was here yesterday looking for you. Why?"

"No big reason, she was just over last night, and I fell asleep. I just wanted to know when she left."

Mom shrugged, but turned to me with a worried look, "Seth, is Lilly okay?"

"She seemed okay, why?"

"Well, she seemed really odd yesterday, and with her grandmother dieing and all I was just wondering."

_I never want to see you unhappy  
I thought you'd want the same for me_

"What? Her grandma died?"

"Yes, she didn't tell you? Poor girl was incredibly upset about it."

"No, she didn't. She honestly seemed fine. Are you sure?"

My mom gave me a droll glare, "No, I made it up. Of course Seth! She was frantically looking for you, and tried to seem normal, but I could tell."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

Mom shrugged, "Maybe she just didn't want you to worry." I started to go back to my room when she stopped me again, concern on her face, "Seth, before she left to find you, she did say that she never wanted to hurt you. It seemed odd. You might want to call her house."

I dug my cell phone from under my bed, and called her house. She hadn't gotten an American cell phone yet, but she'd told me she was trying.

It rang twice, and then my heart stopped, "We're sorry. The number you have dialed has been disconnected and is no longer operable. If you believe you've reached this message in error, please hang up and dial again."

_Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?_

I did. Ten times. Same message each time.

By this time, I was panicking.

I contacted Jake and Sam and asked them to meet me at Lilly's. Something was wrong. Now that I was fully awake, I realized the sweater I kept on my desk to tie to my ankle with my pants before I shifted was gone. Instead, Lilly's scent was stronger and fresher there. She had taken it. That struck me as a red flag. Why would she take my sweater? I had to get to her house.

_So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do_

I made it to her house in record time. Sam and Jake were already there. I started to run in, but Jake grabbed me by the shoulders, "No, Seth. She's gone. They're all gone. The house is empty."

"What?" I breathed out. I didn't understand. How could they be gone. "No!"

I tried to move past him, but it was futile. He was an alpha. "Seth, they've been gone since morning."

"Why?"

Jake shook his head and pulled me into a comforting hug. It didn't help. My whole body was numb. I couldn't think or move, so I just stared over Jake's shoulder. Sam stood behind him, pain and sympathy written on his face.

_We walked along a crowded street  
You took my hand and danced with me  
Images_

Lilly was gone. How could that be? Hadn't she just been with me? I remembered the way my arms had fit around her. I remembered the smell of her hair, and the way she smiled at me. What was I supposed to do?

I didn't know, so I did the only thing that felt right. I cried. At first the tears just fell silently, but then I started sobbing. Jake sat me on the ground, and cried with me. Soon, the whole pack was standing around me. I only knew it because I felt their presence. They were with me, sharing my grief. Even when it started to rain, they stayed.

_And when you left you kissed my lips  
You told me you would never let forget these images, no_

After what seemed like hours, they moved me into a truck. They were talking to each other, but I couldn't follow any of what they were saying. I kept hearing my name, but it wasn't from the person I wanted it to be from. Lilly, she was my imprint. Mine.

_I never want to see you unhappy  
I thought you'd want the same for me_

The thoughts going through my head were nauseating, and I barely noticed when my stomach rejected any and all of the food it had previously contained. I cried myself to sleep. When I woke up, I was in my room.

_Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do_

My mom was sitting next to me, holding a washcloth to my forehead. She looked worried, the wrinkles on her face seeming even more pronounced than before. "Seth?" She asked, her face breaking into a smile, "Sweetheart, are you feeling any better?"

"Was it real?" I really hoped that I'd still been dreaming.

Her smiled saddened, "No, baby. Lilly and her family have gone home. Jake went and checked the records at school. Their dad pulled them out yesterday." She leaned in and hugged me, "Now I know what she meant. She would want you to move on."

"Mom! She was my imprint! I can't move on."

"I know, but Seth, you've got to try. I was so scared when the boys brought you home. I can't lose you too. You're all I have left, with Leah gone."

"I understand." My voice sounded hollow. I really felt like I needed to be alone, "I'll be back."

And then I wandered. From the beach where we first kissed to the forest where we had almost gone a little too far. Everything hurt. Why didn't she tell me?

_I cannot go to the ocean  
I cannot drive the streets at night  
I cannot wake up in the morning  
Without you on my mind  
So you're gone and I'm haunted  
And I bet you are just fine  
Did I make it that easy  
To walk right in and out of my life?_

I couldn't help but wonder if she even really loved me. She'd never said it, but neither had I. I hadn't thought I'd needed to. Now I wonder if I'd said it, that she'd have stayed. So many questions were running through my head. I wanted to talk to her, ask her why she hadn't told me. I felt so tired. It was like Lilly had been my battery charger and now that she was gone, I couldn't keep a charge. Every smile had made my heart beat faster. Now every smile I remembered was like a dagger to my heart. I loved her. So much it was unbearable. I would find her, I decided. Whatever or however long it took, I would find her.

_Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do_

I wouldn't go now, but one day, after I'd finished school, I would find her. On that day, I would claim her as mine. Lilly would always be my mate.

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I've been told I'm evil, but I don't really think so. Have no fear, little Megan may be gone, but she's certainly not forgotten. We haven't seen the last of her, though it might be a while, depending on my poll votes. (Please vote!)

I hope you liked the first chapter, and know that the second is coming soon.

Now everyone! Alert, Favorite, Review and be Merry!

~Jenn


	2. A Rock And A Hard Place

I got the new chapter up thanks to my reviewers: vamp, monkey (Whom helped this get out tonight rather than in the morning.), and team black. Thanks so much.

It has come to my attention that I made Seth sound very depressed. I didn't mean for him to be that way, but it's only going to get happier from there. (Sort of.) I'm just glad I created a recognized low point. That's what it was supposed to be. I hope no one thought I was turning this into a 'Seth gets left and kills himself' story. I don't write stuff like that. I had a hard time even killing off the grandmother that no one knew. (Myself included.)

Sorry about that, but I just had to get that across. I'm going to shut up now and let you all read the new chapter, which is what you came here to do, not to read me ramble.

Disclaimer: In this chapter, I own everything but Seth. It sucks, but it's true.

Enjoy!

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_**Rock And A Hard Place**_

_**Chapter Two**_

_**Lilly Davenport**_

I screamed. The pressure of the boundary hurt, but it only added to my pain. I clutched Holly, seeking some comfort. The pressure didn't seem to bother her, but my scream frightened her judging by the gasp she gave.

Mother sneered at me, "Lilly, please, don't be so overdramatic."

Holly pulled me up, and took me to my room, "Lilly, I think you need to get some rest. I know you're upset, but to prove anything, you need to pull yourself together."

"I'm going to die." I said, my voice shaking.

Holly squeezed my shoulders, "No, you're not. I won't let you die. How else am I supposed to put up with all the stupidity around me. Come on. You should get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow."

"I know." The funeral would be in the morning. The last time I would cross the boundary. It was killing me. I'd be halfway across the globe, but I'd be closer to Seth than I'd be forever.

We'd be in Italy. In the tombs where my family had been buried in for centuries. When I died, I would be buried next to my grandfather. Holly kept telling me I wasn't going to die, but I'd already talked to Gerry.

She actually cried when I asked her how long I had. I'd finally gotten her to calm down when she looked at me with her big violet eyes and said, "A year. At most. You're body has already started deteriorating. If you live past the first year it will be a true miracle." Then she started crying again, "And I can't do anything to save you." Her voice was choppy, "I'm so sorry, Lilly."

I'd hugged her, not really knowing what else to do. I was sort of numb. I had a year. Gerry never really showed any emotion, but she was crying over me. That's when I knew the rumors were true. By the time it was all over, I would be puking up my own lifeblood.

Holly had led me to my room, and left when I yelled at her for trying to help me change clothes. I'd locked the door behind her, and settled onto the floor, my back against the wood of the door.

I had to get out. Escape was my only option, but I had no idea as to how to go about it. My parents were fools. I couldn't leave. My father had said so. He was king, and his word was law. Even if by some strange occurrence that I knew how to pass through the boundary on my own, I wouldn't be able to actually do it, and my father would be alerted to my attempt.

So I paced, my shirt half unbuttoned and falling off my shoulder. It was one of Oliver's pet peeves, he said pacing made him nervous, but I could care less, he wasn't in the room. I really wanted to just break down and cry some more, but that wouldn't help anyone. It certainly wouldn't let me get back to Seth. I was so tired of just doing what others told me to do.

"He misses you." I froze, and turned mechanically to the center of my room. A girl was standing there making my bed. She wasn't looking at me though, so I wasn't even sure she was the one who spoke until she continued, "He dreams about you."

"Who are you?" I asked, letting my frustration out in my voice.

The girl looked up and smiled at me. She looked to me about my age, with shoulder length black hair curled into neat ringlets. "Oh my, so it is true. I'd been told you have quite a temper."

"I don't have a temper!" I yelled, and then looked at my feet in embarrassment, "Who are you?"

She gasped, "I'm sorry. I'm Michaela."

"Well, Michaela, how did you get into my room? I just locked the door." I demanded, tempted to put my hands on my hips before I thought better of it.

She smiled and bent down to fluff a pillow, "We maids always have our ways. We can't not clean a room just because some silly child is throwing a tantrum."

"I am not having a tantrum!"

She furrowed her brows, "Please don't yell at me. How would you like it if everyone yelled at you?"

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"Not a problem. Now, shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?"

"I'm not tired."

"Well of course not. You're just high strung. Just get in bed and let yourself drift. Sleep is the best way to work things out. Sometimes, you can find yourself closer to those you love than you thought possible." I just stared at her. "Princess!" She scolded, "It's rude to stare."

"Are you from a different planet?"

She smiled like she was remembering something amusing, "Maybe, but my parents are from here, so more than likely, I'm from here, then again, I wouldn't really know if I wasn't exactly from here, would I, but I must be for then I could not be here, correct?" She said as she lit a lamp and pulled the window drapes closed.

"What?"

She laughed at my bewilderment, "Princess, I was born in Saint Gabriel."

"Oh."

"I think that if you went to bed, you'd find the answer to your problem easier."

"What problem?" I said defensively.

"You want to get out, but you don't trust anyone. Sleep will mend all."

"I don't think what's been broken can be mended."

"Everything can be mended. You just need to be smart about it. Shall I help you get ready for bed?"

I shook my head, "I'm not an invalid. I can dress on my own."

She was looking at me oddly, "You are incredibly levelheaded to be in so much obvious pain. Incredible."

"How can you tell I'm in pain?" I asked, my voice scathing.

"Well, if you're in half as much pain as he is than I'm surprised you're still standing." She had an odd look in her brown eyes, as if calculating when I was going to burst into tears.

"Who's he?" I asked cautiously, almost dreading the answer that was sure to come from the strange girl.

"You're human, of course. About whom else would I be talking about?"

I snapped my eyes up to the other girls, "What do you know about Seth?"

She blinked at me, "Well, I didn't know his name before. Seth, nice, simple short. As far as names go, it's pretty good."

I couldn't suppress the heated possessiveness that was overwhelming me, "How do you know about him?" I asked, my words sounding more like a growl than speech.

Michaela only smiled at me, seemingly unaware that at any moment, my control would vanish, and things wouldn't end well. For either of us. "I have my ways. I think you need to sleep on it. Who knows you might get to see him. Goodnight, Princess."

I stood still, trying to make sense of her words, and didn't notice she had moved until she had vanished. I ran to the door, and shook the knob. It was still locked. What was going on? Not only had she gotten into my room with the door locked, but she had also gotten out. No wonder someone had gotten to Grams. I walked around my room locking the windows again. As I slid into bed I felt uneasy. I'd always felt safe in my bedroom, but now my eyes flicked to every noise. After what seemed like hours, I fell asleep.

The dream I had that night was so vivid. I was standing in a field of wheat. One of the fields that occupied the outside city. A girl ran past me, her hair the exact color of the golden wheat. "Raven! Where did you go? Raven!"

I followed her. A boy jumped out of the stalks into her path. I put her at about fourteen, and him about fifteen or sixteen. He was muscular, with russet colored skin and dark hair. I felt a pang when I realized that he looked like some of the boys in Seth's pack.

When he grabbed her, the girl shrieked in surprise, and broke into a fit of laughter as he spun her around, "Raven! You scared me! Where did you go?"

He smiled at her, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

She put her hands on her hips, "Raven, what did you do with my scarf?"

The boy smirked, and trailed a hand along her jaw, "I don't know, Laine. Why don't you just order me to give it back?"

She straightened her gold dress and frowned at him, "Raven, you know I don't like it when you talk like that."

He laughed, "I know." He took her hand and pulled her to the ground to sit next to him as he looked up at the sky, "One day, Laine, I'll be able to be seen with you. I'll be you're constant companion. We'll never be apart, and I can tell your mother what I think of her gaudy purple mantle and that horrible scarf she makes you wear. I think you're better off without it."

"Raven, she makes me wear it to keep the sun off my face when I'm out. She doesn't want me to sun burn."

"A little tan wouldn't hurt you. Look at me, I'm tan." He held up an arm for her inspection.

She laughed, and shoved his arm away playfully, "Raven, you were born that way. Although I do agree that it's a dreadfully ugly scarf."

I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Princess, you're in the wrong dream. This isn't for you to see yet. In time." I looked over my shoulder, and met Michaela's brown eyes. The scene around us faded, "Lilly, he's waiting for you. Say what you really wanted to say before you left." Her smiled was kind, and she turned before disappearing.

I was in Seth's room. My heart sped up, and I scanned it to find him. "Lilly?" Arms snaked around my waist and I felt his breath on my neck. "How did you get in here?"

I turned in his arms, and stared at him, "I don't know." I didn't wait for him to say anything before showering his face with kisses, "I'm so sorry I didn't warn you. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I never meant to hurt you. God, Seth. Please, don't hate me. Please. I couldn't live with you hating me. I'm so sorry."

At this point, I had collapsed into his arms, sobbing like a child. He held me to his chest, "I could never hate you, Lilly."

"Why not?" I asked, petulance in my voice.

He cupped my face in his hands, "Because I love you."

My heart skipped a beat and I gasped out, "I love you too."

He kissed me, slowly and deliberately. A shiver ran down my spine. I had the overwhelming urge to submit to him. It was the first time in my life I'd wanted to be controlled. I'd spent my whole life trying to be independent, but I wanted Seth to dominate me. I was an Alpha, but he was stronger than me. If he asked me to leave, I would, with the satisfaction that I'd made him happy. If he asked me to run with him, I would. I would do anything to absolve the pain I'd undoubtedly caused him.

After a few more scorching kisses, he stared into my eyes, "Did you want to leave?" I could see the hope and fear in his eyes. It hurt.

"No!" I shouted, "Never. Never in a million years."

"Then why did you?"

I hugged him tighter, burying my head in his chest, "He was worried about us."

"Why?"

"Because she was murdered."

He pulled me back, to look me head on, "What?"

"My grandmother, she was murdered. He wanted to keep us safe. I tried to tell him I was safe with you, but he didn't believe me. I tried!"

He tucked my head under his, "I'm so sorry, Lilly. I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me about your grandmother?"

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want our last night to have that mark against it. I can't come back. Not really."

"Why not?"

"He won't let me."

"Who?"

"My father. He thinks I'm not safe."

He hugged me again, "You are safe. Whenever you're with me. I'll never let anything happen to you."

"I know that. I've never felt safer than when I'm with you. He doesn't understand. My parents think I'm just pretending to love you. It's not true. I love you more than anything in the world."

"You're not like that. I know that." We stood holding each other for a moment, "Lilly, I'll find you."

"You won't be able to."

"Why not? London can't be that big."

"Please, you can't try. I want you to move on."

"What? What are you talking about?" I turned away from him, "Lilly! What do you mean?"

He grabbed my elbow, and pulled me back to face him. He was confused, and I felt it in my heart. A tear ran down my cheek, "I can't tell you." He looked hurt, like I'd slapped him across the face. "Seth, I want to tell you, but I can't. It would break every rule my pe…that's been sat out."

"What, are you in some kind of cult? Lilly, I can help you."

I shook my head, "No, it's not a cult. Seth, It's something I was born into. I love you."

"I love you too." He took my hand, entwining our fingers, "You can trust me, Lilly."

The area around us flickered. It was a dream. I'd realized that, but everything felt so real. I was running out of time, and if he was actually here with me, I needed to make things clear.

"Seth, please, you can't try to look for me. I don't want you to get hurt." His eyebrows cinched together in confusion. The warm grip on my hand faded as Seth disappeared and his house followed shortly after.

I shot up out of bed, my white linen gown sticking to my damp body. The sudden loss of his presence tore at the whole in the center of my soul. I cried out, before bursting into tears. I was left blissfully alone as I sorted through the overwhelming emotions that were fighting over me.

I felt a hand on my back, "Rough dreams, Princess?" I twisted around, slinging a hand out in defense, whacking Michaela on the shoulder. She squeaked, "Watch out, Princess. You're pretty strong. Wouldn't want to take someone's eye out."

"How did you get in here?" I asked, my heart racing as I wiped my cheeks furiously.

She grinned at me, "The same way I'm going to help you get out, but first, you have a funeral to get ready for. How about you let your sister in before she beats down the door." Now, I recognized the dull pounding coming from my door.

I pointed a finger at her threateningly; "I'll deal with you later."

She smiled, "I wouldn't expect anything less. I'll be here when you get back." I had the unusual urge to hit her again, on the shoulder hadn't been good enough.

I glanced in the mirror and wiped the tears away, fixing the remainders of my demolished eyeliner. I hadn't taken it off since when I had left Seth. It had been bad then, but it was even worse now. When I looked back, as expected, Michaela was gone. Weird girl, but she didn't seem to want to hurt me.

Holly yanked on the doorknob again, "Lilly! Come on!"

I jerked the door open. Holly was already dressed, it wasn't fair really, she was so pretty. Her pretty, long, black hair had been tamed into loose curls that fell down her shoulders. Her dress was stunning, and I was tempted to guess that Oliver had drawn it for her. It was purely Holly. The dress was an intricate. The top rested across her collarbone and flowed into multiple layers of lace, and different types of black fabric layers. The dress was topped off with a black leather corset. It was refined and gothic. Holly in a nutshell.

She looked me over, and I felt suddenly inadequate. She was far more a princess than I was. She frowned, "Lilly, you're a mess. We need to leave in an hour. What am I going to do with you?" She sighed and grabbed my hand, pulling me to the vanity.

She had the outside of me looking perfect within half an hour. My makeup was in order, the knots in my hair painstakingly removed, and she had headed out to get my dress, leaving me to stare at my reflection. I looked pretty good; she'd managed to cover up the circles under my eyes making me seem like I was pulled together.

The inside was another story. I'd protected Seth. I'd convinced my mother not to get rid of his memories, but if he went looking for me, it was over. She would do it, and I'd die because I wouldn't force anything on him, not even if my life depended on it. As the human saying goes, 'Stuck between a rock and a hard place.'

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I hope you liked the chapter and are now full of questions that you would like to leave me a review and ask. :)

I will post a picture of the dress for any of you who are interested, and when I post the next chapter, I'll post a picture of Lilly's dress.

Key points to remember for next time:

1. Lilly still has Seth's sweater.

2. The names of the two kids from the first part of Lilly's dream. They are IMPORTANT!! (Those of you observant individuals will notice something interesting pertaining to the second to last chapter of NIB.

3. Michaela will be back soon. (The real one helped beat this chapter out of me.)

I can't wait to read the reviews, and I'm sad to say that I'm going back to school next week, so only one more chapter until we most likely have long gaps (Two or three weeks, depending on my free time, maybe a day or so in some cases.) I'm going to try to keep the updates as regular as possible, but I'm in high school...it's unpredictable.

Review,

-Jenn


	3. Funerals Suck

So...here's chapter three...I'm done with chapter four too...so if you all review...it will be out pretty soon, but if not, it will be this weekend.

I've changed some of my photos, and added them all to my Freewebs account:

http :// www. /londonrea2004/ characterpics. htm (Take out the spaces.)

I worked really hard to get good visuals. You'll recognize a few of the people, but I couldn't find anything else. I'll get around to changing the links on my profile, or I'll just put up this link and get rid of the rest. I hope everyone takes the time to look.

This chapter doesn't have much, until the end, which is part of what took me so long to get it out, that and I started sophomore year on Monday.

As I said, chapter four is complete, so Review!

_**

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Funeral's Suck**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Lilly Davenport**_

My dress was pretty enough. About as pretty as the child of a wedding dress and a few yards of black satin ribbon could be. Okay, so it was beautiful, but it looked like a wedding dress. It was kind of creepy. And standing in front of the mirror in that dress, I felt like a princess for the first time since that first day at Emily and Sam's.

I missed them all. Missing Seth was horrible, but I'd never thought I'd miss any of the others. I missed Emily and her heartwarming smile. I missed Sam and Jacob for being there and protecting Seth. I even missed Paul for the plain fact that we had bonded over a simple piece of bread. I smiled at that. I'd been so horrified when I'd hit him because it was incredibly rude, but it seemed to have been the right thing to do. I adored the pack, the Cullen's too.

"Lilly, it's time to go." Holly said from my door, her voice soft.

I nodded, "I know. I'm ready."

As I opened my door, I fingered the band of cloth I'd tied around my left wrist. It was a strip of Seth's jacket entwined with a piece of cloth from my dress. I'd taken the swatches from the inside of his jacket where you couldn't tell from the outside, and the bottom layer of my dress.

My mother would have a cow about me ripping my dress, but I could care less. She didn't believe me, so from now on I wouldn't trust her. Trust was a two way street. She only thought she'd had a hard time with seven kids. After Gram's funeral, the good girl was leaving.

As we walked into the entry hall, I was fixed to Oliver's side, my flask in my hand. Idly, I touched the necklace I was wearing. Holly had given it to me after I'd left my old one at Seth's house. She said I looked awkward without one. It didn't feel right. The metal was of lower quality, and the metal lacked the density of my old one.

It had been a Celtic love pendant, my aunt had given it to me on my sixth birthday, and I had worn it since the day she left. I can never remember exactly why she left, I'd never had much concern or put much effort into preserving my childhood memories. All I remembered was the last hollow look she gave Oliver and I as she was led out the gates. I was walking that same path now, and I couldn't help wondering how it would feel to be like her, and never have to return.

I didn't even notice we were ready to go until Oliver and Holly each claimed one of my elbows. The boundary didn't hurt as much as it had the first time, something that I found a great relief, but I suddenly felt a headache start behind my left eye. "Great." I mumbled, just another thing to make me feel worse about myself.

The funeral was anything but simple, here in the catacombs that some city in Italy was built on, we had to each make a promise to our grandmother, and we would each hear her final words of advice before we preformed the ritual to release her soul. I knew what I was going to say, but I wasn't quiet sure as to how to say it.

Grams had been patient and seemed to be understanding. I would miss her. It was dark, and the air smelled of mold and mildew. It was beyond gross, and I tried not to think about what I was stepping on. I knew one thing for certain; my dress would not be white when we left. I hated the dark, and the light coming from Moss's hand wasn't enough to comfort me. The flame was playing with her as she walked. She always said she could hear fire talk to her, and now she giggled at it, as it flicked against her fingers, weaving in and out like a puppy. Ivy just rolled her eyes. It was a strange reaction, normally, Ivy would have watched it with her twin, and tried to reach out and touch it, only to have it jerk away up Moss's arm.

I looked at my own twin, and slid my hand into his. He looked upset, and I felt for him. I'd tried our whole lives to protect him, and this was something I couldn't help. He looked at me, and our eyes met. He didn't just look upset; I could practically see the shadows in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly, leaning into his shoulder. He nodded, but didn't say anything. "Ollie, are you alright?"

He glared at me, "Lilly, please, be quiet."

"Oliver, don't shut me out. What's wrong?"

He grabbed my shoulder, his long fingers digging into my shoulder, "Lily, I'm fine. Don't draw attention."

I nodded, frightened by my brother's sudden ferocity. He held onto my hand though, squeezing it like his life depended on it.

I held on too. In all my panic and hurt, I had forgotten that everyone else had been forced to leave too. I felt guilty, but then I wondered what Oliver had left. He didn't really have any friends at school, and he spent most of his time in his room, drawing, I supposed.

I felt the flask hanging from the silver chain at my waist. I ran my free hand over the lily pattern that covered either side. It must have taken him days to get each detail perfect. Although he was talented beyond his years, he was a perfectionist. I'd only sat for a portrait from him once. Even though I was his twin, it had taken him hours to complete the picture. I'd been antsy and frustrated at the end, but the drawing had hung in my bedroom for years.

We reached my grandmother's tomb a few minutes later, and all nine of us stood in a circle around the marble sarcophagus. I knew what was being asked, but it still didn't help when my parents cut a line in their left palms and passed the knife to my brother before putting their bleeding hands in the sarcophagus lid. The scent nearly drove me crazy as I cut my own hand, and placed it on the marble near my twin's.

I held my bloodlust at bay until everyone's blood mixed in the center, and the world turned white. It was like being in a dream. The air was full of white fog, so thick that I felt like I was breathing it in. "Lilly?"

"Grams!" I yelled in jubilation. She was easy to find, being the only thing not made of fog.

The old woman smiled at me, "Oh, Lilly, dear, sweet, Lilly. I've missed you."

"You too." I murmured into her blond-white hair. She smelled like lavender. "Why did you have to die?"

She laughed, "Lilly, I was old. It must have been my time, and the great lord decided to take me home. He didn't know I'd be so stubborn. That's something you get from me." She looked sad, "Lilly, I've been sick for a while."

"What?"

"I started getting sick after your grandfather died." I nodded, my grandfather had been a gifted human, and as such, he didn't live as long as Rowan do. He had died six years ago due to illness, the main reason he had convinced Grams to secede. "I didn't tell your father because I didn't want him to worry. My killer saved me a lot of sickly pain down the road. Now, enough about me. What have you come to ask?"

I took a deep breath, and began, hoping I wouldn't ramble too badly, "I've been so confused recently. My parents don't trust me. They don't believe anything I say, and I really, really think I've imprinted on this real world boy. They won't let me go back. I can't live without him, and they think I'm being a hormonal teenager? It's like he's the only thing that's ever mattered. I look at him and I can't imagine my life without him in it." I looked up at her desperately, "I know what happens when an imprint isn't sealed. Grams, what do I do?"

She smiled grimly, and smoothed my hair, "Lilly, pure of heart, you are such a strong girl. I can't make your parents change their minds. I can, however, tell you that if they start seeing the changes in you, they should understand. I know it will be hard, but you will have to buy yourself time." She looked down guiltily, "And you know, if you ever want to get out of the castle, and I'm not saying I advise you do it tomorrow or anytime soon, just ask your maid when you feel the time is right. They are the most helpful people, and know when to keep their mouths shut."

I thought of the way Michaela had vanished from my room, "How would you know?"

Grams laughed, "Sweetie, I was a princess too. I believe your twin has snuck out his fair share of times. How do you think I met your grandfather?"

I hugged her, "I'll miss you so much."

She rubbed my back, "So will I. Take care of the family Lilly, they need you more than you think. You must always remember that your younger siblings are always watching you; you're their big sister. I love you."

"I love you too, Grams." And then I knew what I needed to do, "Thank you for your advice, goodbye Grams."

She smiled at me, and waved as I stepped back, disconnecting our last physical bond, "Be safe, my Lillium."

I nodded, and held back the tears as she faded away. I felt better with my mind more centered and my decision made. I smiled, seeing Grams again had been good. That was one thing I didn't like about the real world. Once someone was dead, there was no closure. At least, not unless it was some sort of chronic disease. I thought of Seth's dad. From what I'd heard from Emily, Harry Clearwater's death had been sudden. I felt bad for him for not having been able to say goodbye.

As each of my family members stirred from their own trance, I searched out Gerry to stop the ache in my palm. She smiled at me, and took my hand into hers. The throb left immediately, and she let it go. She was an amazing little girl.

We all began to trickle out of the chamber. I found my hand engulfed in Oliver's. I smiled at the contact. He would always be there for me. I pressed my shoulder to his. I could always count on Oliver to have my back.

We went back into the dark hall. Gerry skipped past us, leaving Oliver and I at the back of the line.

I didn't notice he was crying until I felt a tear hit my hand. I looked at him, and his head was hung, tears falling from his face as he sobbed soundlessly, "Oliver?"

He didn't respond. I let him continue for several minutes, my mind reeling. Why was he crying? I hauled him to a stop when my own hand became so slick with tears that it felt like I'd run been running for hours. I hugged him, thinking that he needed it, "Lilly, let me go!"

I was taken aback by his tone, and let my hands fall to my sides, "Ollie? What's wrong?" I asked, shock laden in my voice.

"It's a lie."

"What?" I gasped out.

He growled and pinned me to the wall by my shoulders, his fingers digging into my skin. I stood stunned under his grasp, "Our lives, Lilly. Our whole lives are a lie. We aren't who we think we are."

* * *

If you're observant, than you should be able to pick out a few details in the next chapter. And the kids at the bottom of my page will be in the next chapter. I'm going to write a story about them, and perhaps add it to Hell's Bells, or a stand alone on Fictionpress.

Can't wait to read your reviews!

-Jenn


	4. Bloody Hell

Hey, I tried to put this up last night, but the site wouldn't let me. Sorry! In this chapter, we meet a few new characters that have photos on my freewebs (Which I'll be putting the link on my profile.)

This chapter was kind of hard to write, for obvious reasons, but all events had to happen the way they happened.

On that note,

Enjoy!

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_**Bloody Hell**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Alice Cullen**_

Jasper and I went hunting when Seth showed up. He couldn't stand to be around Seth now. The Davenports had been gone for four days. To the rest of us, he seemed okay, but Jasper could tell what he was hiding behind the surface. Jasper hated seeing his friend in such pain, so we had excused ourselves for the weekend, skipping school on Friday when Seth had come by before school.

I loved being alone with Jazz. He could let loose around me. He was trying to catch me. It was a game we liked to play. We'd make a bet and if he caught me he won and if I got to the Canadian border first, I won.

I was a mile shy of my goal when I felt the vision begin to hit. I stopped running, standing stone still in between two trees.

And suddenly I was in an area of the wood near Forks that I recognized as a place Jasper and I frequented. A body was in the center of the clearing. I walked towards it. I gasped in recognition and horror. It was one of the little blond Davenport twins. A blanket had covered her, but it had come off some, leaving her face and shoulders uncovered. Her eyes were open, staring into empty space, and covered in white film. She'd been dead for a week tops. Her sundress was dirty. I noticed that her neck was bent at an odd angle, and I felt sick when I saw the handprint bruises on it. Her long blond hair was splayed around her pale face.

I heard some one coming towards me from behind, "Alice, you'll never win if you stop and wait on me." It was Jasper, and suddenly I was back standing between the trees.

"Jasper, call Bella."

"What? I thought we'd agreed for this to just be our weekend." He saw the expression on my face, and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me in, "Alice, what happened? What did you see?"

"Call Bella, have her tell Charlie to meet us at the house. The pack needs to come as well."

He called Bella, and relayed my instructions, while I stared at the ground, my mind still reeling. Was that why they left? Who would kill a little girl like that? I'd seen a lot of things, but nothing quiet as horrifying as this.

Rose would be angry. She always was whenever she saw that a child had been murdered, but this time would be different. She'd seen herself and Emmett in the twin girls. She'd told me that when we'd gone shopping the morning after our visit. She said she'd watched them all night. They were blond, like her, and prone to trouble like Emmett. There was no doubt in my mind. We would find out what was going on.

Jasper and I ran home, arriving just as Charlie did.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Bella asked, concern on her face.

I shook my head, "I…can't…I can't tell you…it's too…horrible. Charlie, you need to follow us. We'll walk, nothing is going to change now."

"What do you mean, Alice?" The human asked. I ignored him, keeping my thoughts from Edward.

The pack arrived a minute later, and I started walking. I couldn't get her face out of my head, but Edward was keeping silent. I'd shown her face to him when I'd told him to leave Nessie with Esme. He'd understood, and had convinced Esme to stay and baby-sit.

Walking so Charlie could keep up, it took fifteen minutes. She was there, just like in my vision. Edward grabbed Bella when she cried out. Rose punched Emmett for trying to do the same as she sobbed tearlessly. Carlisle was all-professional although the regret was visible in his eyes. He examined the child's body, and I stepped forward, Jazz's hand still in mine. "Can you tell which one she is?" I asked softly.

"Ivy." He said, his voice tense. He had found a set of dog tags hanging around her broken neck. One read 'Ivy' and the other told of a severe peanut allergy. He closed her eyes. We all just stood there in silence. She had just been a little girl, no different than any other.

Finally, Paul spoke, "She's Lilly's sister, isn't she, Seth?"

He looked stricken, and Jacob grabbed his elbow gently, "Yeah. I don't understand."

"That this might be why she left?" Sam supplied.

"No," Seth said, his voice hollow, "I don't understand. I think I know who killed her. It doesn't make sense."

"What?" Jacob asked.

"She smells like her brother, Nigel. None of you have met him, but I have. He was the last person near here."

Emmett growled, and hugged Rosalie tighter, having calmed her down slightly, "They know something. They have to. How could they not notice their daughter was missing?"

"We need to find them." Seth said.

Charlie nodded, "When they left, I checked out the forwarding address and the phone number. They don't exist. I did find an address for Mr. Davenport's sister. I think it's on a slip of paper in my car."

So we went back to the house. Charlie grabbed the scrap of paper while the rest of us went inside. Carlisle took Esme's hand and led her out of Nessies's hearing range. When they came back, Esme was as quiet and sullen as the rest of us.

Charlie came in with a piece of paper tightly gripped in his hands, "I called the station, and they've gone to take her to the morgue. God, I hope this woman knows where her brother is."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Carlisle looked at Rose and Emmett, "Maybe you should stay here. She might not be willing to talk with so many people there."

"I'll stay with Nessie." Bella offered, and Emmett silently concurred, dragging Rosalie to their room.

Most of the pack decided to stay and the final group contained Charlie, Edward, Seth, Carlisle, Jasper and I.

The house looked small on the outside, but it held the same Victorian quality that her brother's had.

"She's teaching a class." We all jumped, and looked at the little girl who had seemingly materialized onto the porch swing, she couldn't have been more than fourteen. Her hair was straight, and brown with yarn weaved around a chunk of hair in the front.

"Do you live here?" Carlisle asked, and the girl nodded, "We're here to talk to Dicey Davenport."

The girl glared at him, and stood, closing the book she had been holding with a deft snap, "I told you, she's in a class. I know why you're here. We won't let you hurt her." As if by some cue, another girl and a teenaged boy appeared at her side.

"What's your names, we don't want to hurt you or Ms. Davenport. We're just here to talk." Carlisle said soothingly.

The girl huffed, her eyes turning even colder, "That's what the boy said, and he yelled at her. My name is Zaria."

"It's nice to meet you, Zaria. I promise, we won't yell or…"

"I don't believe you!" She yelled, and was about to say something else, but a hand clapped over her mouth.

"Zaria, that's enough. Don't be rude to our guests." A stunning black haired girl was standing behind Zaria. "Guys, go back to class. Violence is not the answer."

The other two kids muttered muffled 'Sorry's before they walked off. The girl held onto Zaria, gripping the girl's shoulder tightly, "Apologize, Zaria."

"Sorry." The younger girl said, anger in her eyes.

That seemed to appease the older girl because she let her go.

She looked at us and smiled, "I'm sorry about them. They're still children. It's nice to meet you, Dr. Cullen. I look forward to spending time with you and your family. My name is Isavelle." She had a strange accent, European, but I'd never heard one like it before. Her English was flawless, but she'd learned it somewhere strange, giving her an odd lilting accent, her voice light and airy.

Edward laughed, trying to make light of the situation, still shaken by what we'd seen, "That's my girlfriends name."

The girl smiled, and a strand of hair fell into her face. It was purple. The girl had freaking purple highlights. I wanted to stop and talk to her, but now wasn't a good time, obviously. She smiled easily, "I doubt it. Isabelle perhaps, but not Isavelle. Spelled with a v, of course. Ms. Dicey is waiting upstairs in the music room." She opened the door and we followed her in, "She was giving a voice lesson to my baby sister Darla and Kellan." She went up the stairs a few steps, "Follow me. She told me to make you comfortable in the upstairs sitting room."

As we went up the narrow stairs, we heard singing. It was French, perfect and crisply enunciated. When she finished we heard, "Wow, Kellan. You've gotten it down. See, practice does make perfect."

Isavelle laughed, "Sounds like she's almost done. Come on, make yourselves comfortable." The sitting room was pretty, and reasonably comfy.

I was examining the floor to pass the time when I noticed a little red toy truck, "You have kids here?"

Isavelle smiled, and stooped to pick up the toy, running it the length of her hand before pocketing it, "Yeah, just one, it's Billy's he must have gone to Marcus when you all showed up. He's terribly shy." She suddenly looked concerned, "I should actually go and find him. Marcus and Jeremy always forget he's still little. He's horrible with bruises, a regular drama king. Bruises like a peach too. It's a nightmare. I'll only be a moment." I laughed; the girl's sense of humor was amusing.

Before she could get out the door, Carlisle stopped her, "What kind of school is this exactly?"

"It's a school for gifted children. Ms. Dicey takes very good care of us."

Only a few moments after Isavelle left, the door opened again and another young woman stepped in. She had her back to us, fiddling with a tray of some sort. "Hello, so sorry to have kept you waiting. Now, how may I help you, Chief Swan, Mr. Cullen?"

Charlie frowned, "We're to see Ms. Davenport."

She turned around, and I gasped in shock. "I'm sorry, it seems I've forgotten to introduce myself. I am Dicey Davenport." She was blond, like her brother, and she had the same eyes that Oliver and Lilly shared with their dad.

She was definitely Chrys's sister, but she looked younger than him. It was weird, but the level thrum of her heart assured me she was human. Lilly favored her; it was in their eyes and nose. The similarities were striking, when she grinned, it was Lilly, and the mysterious twinkle in her eyes made me glance at Seth. He looked like he was in pain. She looked a lot like Lilly. I didn't doubt that he saw Lilly in Dicey.

And as much as she favored her family, she was distinctly her own. Dicey looked like some sort of hunting cat, openly friendly, but internally ready to spring into action. She was wearing a black vest and tight jeans, emphasizing her lean muscled body, "Tea, anyone?"

We all declined, and she set on the sofa opposite Carlisle and Charlie with a hot cup of tea, "Now, what can I help you with."

"We're hear to ask you about the whereabouts of your brother."

She frowned and sat her cup on a well-placed coaster, "I'm sorry. I don't know whom you've talked to, but I haven't seen my brother in ten years. Last time I saw him, he was chasing around twin girls in their diapers. And he had no urge to see me off." She seemed bitter, and from looking at Jasper, that was the truth. She stood, and wrung her hands together. I didn't miss the thin scars that covered the skin of her wrists; she'd tried to kill herself.

Noticing my gaze, she crossed her arms in her lap, "I really hate to be rude, but I think you should leave. The kids don't like it when I get stressed out, and I'd hate for them to hurt you. You know kids, they can be the most horrible, spiteful creatures." She looked mildly concerned, "Especially Zaria." She shook her head, "I'm sorry. But really, you need to leave, if you have nothing else to say."

Charlie stood, "I need to find your brother because one of your niece's was found dead this morning."

She froze, and her whole body tensed, "Which one." She stopped breathing, waiting on Charlie or Carlisle to answer.

"We've identified her as Ivy, but I know they're identical twins, so we really need to find your brother."

She let out the breath, and slumped back into her chair, whispering, "Thank god." She rubbed the bridge of her nose and straightened, "What happened?"

"My daughter found her in the woods near our house. We believe that she was murdered."

She looked up at me, "Thank you, for coming here. I'm so sorry I've been so rude. My brother is a messy subject." She looked at Charlie desperately, "I didn't even know he was gone. Our mother died last weekend, so he must have gone home. The funeral would have been two days ago. I have no idea where he would have gone. Are the others okay? Was Ivy the only one?"

I nodded, "Yes, I'm the one who found her. My name is Alice. I was a friend of Lilly's. So was Seth."

She smiled at me sadly and flicked her eyes to Seth. They widened a fraction of an inch, "Lovely to meet you."

"Do you know where they are? Please, tell me." Seth pleaded, close to tears.

She looked at him critically, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you where they are." She slid forward, sitting o the floor on her knees in front of him, and took his hands in to her own, forcing him to look at her, "Home is a place I lost the honor of speaking of when I was disowned. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but if it's true, she'll come back. She won't be able to help herself."

"What? Who are you talking about?" He said defensively, and I could tell that Edward and Jasper were ready to tackle him.

Dicey smiled, and touched a chain that I hadn't notice around his neck. She pulled it gently out from under his shirt. It was a silver pendant, "I saw the bulge." She explained, "It's one of a kind. Nothing else like it in the world. I gave this to Lilly on her sixth birthday. Not a year later, and I was gone. She loved it. I can only imagine her leaving it for someone that would care enough to miss her. If she loves you, she'll come back, Seth." Her face turned grim, "You must not go looking for her." She let him go and stood, "I think I've helped you all I can, but if you have any other questions, please come by later, unless you plan on helping me cook dinner."

Carlisle motioned that we should leave. We followed Dicey down the stairs, and she jumped slightly when a loud bang came from one of the halls.

Isavelle walked into the entry hall, pulling a flame haired boy by the ear, "Ms. Dicey, Jeremy gave Billy another lollipop before dinner." She glared at the boy she was holding; "You've spoiled his dinner now."

A brown haired girl that looked like Isavelle followed closely grinning guiltily, "Yes, Jeremy, that's very bad. Billy's too young to skip meals."

Isavelle glared at the other girl, "Darla, don't be a suck up."

Dicey suddenly looked overwhelmed, "Isavelle! We have guests. Please, take Jeremy to the kitchen. Darla, please, go back to your lesson."

The girl pouted, "But Ms. Dicey, Jaden's not here yet. He's never been this late before, couldn't we just have class later."

"No, Darla. I need to take care of some things. Dr. Cullen, Chief Swan and company were just here to tell me that one of my nieces was murdered."

Isavelle clapped a hand over her mouth, "Oh my God, was it Holly? Is that why he's not here yet? Oh my god, poor Jaden."

"Izzy! I heard you shrieking from halfway to the highway, calm down." A man had just come in the back door, with a baby carrier in his hand. He had his back turned to us as he struggled to close the door, "So what am I poor about?" He turned around, "Bloody hell."

In that instant everyone froze.

It was Jason from biology.

Only it wasn't.

* * *

Ha! So, do you like Dicey and the rest of the gang?

Sorry about the cliff hanger, but I had to. Please don't kill me. :)

Any questions can be asked in reviews, and pm's so feel free to do so.

I will be updating a few of my FictionPress stories in the next day or so, so look out for me. (Captive For Life, Finding Yoursefl, and maybe, just maybe, Phantom Kiss.)

The next Taking Chances chapter will be out soon. The bracelet Lilly made will be fairly important. And for any of you that want to know, the necklace Lilly was missing, and that she gave to Seth is a Celtic love pendant, the same one Dicey gave to her. (Hint) Next, we will also find a bit more about what Oliver found out, and why it's causing his mental break.

Thanks and remember to review,

-Jenn


	5. Cracks In The Window

Hah! I'm so happy! After many days of procrastination and indisicion, I finally sat down and figured it out! I wrote this chapter all in the last day. Let's just say my fingers are really tired. :) In that last day, my body has also decided to hate me, so I'm sitting in bed with my pile of tissues, trying to finish the chapter before I'm too sick to type... I feel like I got run over, but a lot happens in this chapter, so I hope it all makes sense.

I can't wait to see what you think...so review!

(Thanks go to K for giving my muse bunnies a carrot.)  
_**

* * *

Cracks In The Window**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Rave Magnus**_

Everyone stood stunned, looking at the boy. In him we now saw two people. Oliver the little boy, and this new person, Oliver the man. His grip on Lilly was tight. Her eyes were wide, and she was squirming in his grip. I didn't quite hear what he said before I lunged at them. I grabbed the boy by his collar, and yanked him back. To my surprise, he kept his grip on Lilly, and she slammed into his chest. The boy was strong, and his sister wasn't fighting him. She was stunned still, her silver eyes pleading with her twin.

He let her go, when he realized that she wasn't moving. She dropped to the ground, and stared up at her twin from her knees. "Ollie?"

He stood over her, and by the set of his jaw, I could tell that he was looking down at her with his teeth clenched. They were both shaking, Oliver from rage, and his twin in fear. I caught him in a choke hold from behind, and he flailed, nearly backhanding me across the face. I threw all my weight into pulling him to the ground before he decided to lunge at her again. To my painful surprise, he dropped like a leaf, and my right elbow took most of the force of our impact. I groaned in pain as it shattered.

The boy was heavier than he looked, obviously more lean muscled than I'd first though. The pain in my arm was intense, flaring in waves, and when I looked down, it appeared that it wasn't my elbow I'd broken. My forearm had fractured, and part of the bone was sticking out of my skin, blood oozing out of it, I'd landed on a rock. I felt the urge to vomit. But I was a soldier. I'd had worse. In an instant I was brought back to the first time I'd seen my own blood coat my hands:

It had been my first battle, just over ten years ago. I'd thrown a temper tantrum, after the Princess had been banished, and had gone to a battle angry. I'd been stupid and not seen that one of the enemies wasn't quite dead. He'd run me through with his sword. I would have died if I hadn't been the Prince's closest friend. Even in Avalon, it paid to know the higher ups. I was alive because my best friend was the heir.

Now he was the King, and the boy I was grasping was the Prince now. He was struggling, and I gasped when he hit me in the solar plexus with his elbow. That finally made me snap. Not hurting the boy was not going to happen. I roared and threw my body weight on top of him. Wheezing, I pinned him to the ground, my good arm against his throat.

The pyrokenetic, Moss, lit the tunnel, her fear fueling the fire. My anger came to a halt when I looked him head on in the light. His eyes were glowing red. I let him go, shifting back to my feet, clutching my bad arm, but keeping myself between him and the others, blocking their view. I was staring at the boy, echoing his twin's shock. Now I knew what had stunned her so. It was a well known fact that Oliver wasn't Rowan. He'd never Shifted. Never shown even the hint for the ability. Yes, he was a brilliant Animator, but not Rowan, never Rowan.

And as usual, the littlest Davenport flung herself into the middle of the chaos. Like a small marsupial, she jumped onto his back. The relief was instantaneous. He crumpled, and the little girl landed on top of him. She looked so much like the Healers in old murals that it was frightening. Her eyes were absorbing part of his pain, adding a red tint to her violet eyes. She looked like some sort of rabid animal, her hand splayed on the back of his neck, shutting off his pain receptors, rendering him unconscious as well. She looked angry, "I told you! How many times have I told you?"

The rest of her family just stared, all stunned. Anna moved forward, but the little girl held up a hand to make her stop, "Gerry, please, I have no idea what you're talking about. Sweetheart, what do you mean?"

The little girl growled, "What do I mean? I told you they were unstable. I told you! You never listen. Have you not noticed? And something's not right with Ivy either. Are you all deaf, dumb and deluded?"

I'd never seen an outburst quite like this one since the days of a young banished Princess. Lilly moved, pulling her motionless twin brother into an embrace. I knew what she was crying for, her brother was the only thing her parents hadn't taken from her, and now, simply for being an Unfounded Rowan, they might take him from her too.

I looked to my best friend, it was as easy to read him as it was his daughter, all the Davenport's were. He was calculating his odds. Anna would make him stick to the rules, even if it was her son. Before her, my best friend would have fought for what he thought was right. Unfounded Rowan were always sentenced to death. They were out of the normal. I despised the old rules, they were created to eliminate everything that could be perceived as unnatural. The rules were made by people who were weak, I'd thought none of the Davenport's were, but Chrys might prove to be the exception.

Looking at the boy my heart hurt. There was nothing unnatural about the lanky boy in the Princess's arms. He was just a boy. And she was just a girl. Her family always pretended that she was invincible, but I could see through Lilly like a piece of glass. Her world was falling apart.

Per her father's orders, I had followed her every time she had been with the human boy. I'd seen them together, the way she looked at him made me hurt. It reminded me of the way I'd looked at a person long ago. I had no doubt that she had imprinted on him. Her mother was blind to it.

Right now, the girl's silver eyes were flooding with tears. She may be a rash teenager, but she was smart. Smart enough to know the laws she'd been nursed on. She was a Princess. Her baby brother was gasping for air, undoubtedly choking on the scent of her blood as it seeped from the half crescent markings on her thin shoulders. His eyes suddenly changed colors, from red to his usual silver. I shifted my weight to my other foot, and my arm stung again.

Gerry seemed to feel that my broken arm was causing me because she came forward and wrapped her tiny arms around my waist. The pain fled, and I felt the sickening crunch as the bones in my arm slid against each other. She let me go after about thirty seconds, and smiled up at me before returning to her brother and sister. I felt a wave of cold fear, when instead of going to the turning male, Gerry rested a hand on Lilly's shoulder. Healers never did anything without purpose. It was in there nature to go to the person with the greatest amount of pain. It didn't make sense. Unless…

I lunged at the girl, pulling her left arm into view. The veins on her wrist were dark, unusually so. I pinched my eyes closed. The Stigma. I suddenly had the urge to spin around and sock my best friends pretty little doll faced wife. That was, until I saw the look in Lilly's eyes. Now I wanted to beat the girl for being stubborn. She was going to die silently. Her last defiance to her parents. They didn't trust her, so why should she trust them. She did look concerned about the appearance of her arm, "Lilly, how long have you had it?" I rubbed the skin, and makeup rubbed off, she'd tried to cover it up.

She dropped her gaze, "I noticed it this morning."

That was bad. The Stigma on her arm looked more like weeks rather than hours old. I'd seen plenty of them. I'd even battled my own. I'd started out like her, defiant and angry, but I'd given in. I'd make her do the same. Defying her parents wouldn't ever be worth her life. And judging by the rapid spread, she didn't have long.

I hauled her to her feet, and tried to brush the dirt off her dress. In my opinion, although pretty, the dress didn't need to be saved. Taking Gerry's hand, I picked up Oliver, throwing him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I glared at Chrys, "Let's go home, my lord. I think the children need to rest. Stressful thing, funeral's. Who's taking the lead?"

Holly stepped out of the shadows, "I'll take point. I'm tired. Rest sounds nice." Judging by the look she gave me, she was responsible for the change of Oliver's eyes.

Anna pulled herself together, "Yes, I think that is a good idea. Chrys, can we leave from here?"

He nodded slowly, "I should be able to."

"Than get your ass moving, pretty boy. We don't have all day." He grinned slightly at my gruffness, and in that slight smile, I saw the boy I had made friends with all those years ago.

After about thirty seconds of silence, we were back in the entrance hall. My head hurt, my arm was still throbbing, and my good shoulder was burning from the weight of the youngest prince. I dumped the kid on a plush lounge chair. A few servants swarmed him, and under the careful instruction of Geranium, took him to his room.

Lilly stood against the wall, and didn't move until her partially undead sister swooped over to her and ferried her to her bedroom. The rest of the Davenport's disappeared in a similar manner. Finally, I was left alone. I collapsed onto the chair that had recently cushioned the young prince, and waited.

Sure enough, she came back. From across the room, she regarded me coldly, before her harsh exterior melted, and she walked to sit next to me, "That was rough, wasn't it?" She said, her voice light.

I nodded.

"I knew this would happen…well not Oliver, but certainly Lilly. She may be rash, but she's not stupid." I observed Ava Landry's daughter with admiration, even at such a young age, she was mature beyond her years. She turned her luminescent green eyes on me, "Will you do it?"

"Do I have a choice? I can't let her die. Now, I'll have to bring him too."

Holly nodded, "I know. That's an unfortunate cog in the machine."

"What?" I asked, confused by her American slang.

She smiled and shook her head, "It means that it's a problem. So, have you found someone to help you?"

I shook my head, "You might try her maid. From what I've been told, the maids know everything."

I laughed at her, "Please, girl, you just found that out? I'd not been here near two days when I was enlightened. Any way, most are loyal to Anna and Chrys, they won't betray their orders."

She shook her head, "I'd try Oliver and Lilly's maids, they might be willing to help."

"Great idea, you going to help me?"

She laughed, and it sent a shiver up my spine, it was vampiric, "Rave, you know I can't. I can't be see to be involved in anything. In five hours, I'm going back to Forks for a few minutes. You need to leave no later than then."

"I really will have to take him too, won't I?"

"Yes, they need each other they always do. I had Gerry spell him unconscious. He'll be out for the rest of the change. She says he'll be pretty much dead weight for three days after. She also told me that she's not for positive that his pain won't overflow into Lilly, or vise versa."

I groaned, "Nothing is ever simple with you guys, is it?"

She laughed, "No, I don't guess so. I'd best be going."

"Yes, wouldn't want your parents to catch you with the general would you?"

"That's it, while your charms are naturally charming, I'm a little young for you."

"Girl, you could be my daughter. Of course I'm too old for you, although the same could be said about your vampire."

Her eyes darkened, "I know that." She turned to me as she stood, "I think it only fair that I should tell you the truth before you leave."

"About what?" I asked, not liking the look in her eyes.

She looked down, gluing her eyes to the floor, "My father. It's common knowledge that I'm a half ling, but it's…not so common…as to who my father is."

Something in her tone worried me, "Who is he?"

She looked back up at me through her thick black eyelashes, "Lucian Debrokav."

Shocked, I stared at her, and suddenly it all made sense. Lucian…who would have thought? No one. But it made sense of how she acted. She exuded danger, depression, and despair. Now I felt like an idiot for not seeing it before. She was Lucian's. Lucian Debrokav. The most dangerous vampire in both worlds. The only other Broker besides the ex-princess. He had hundreds of vampires bound into his service, Holly's mate included. Just his name sent terror down the spines of most men.

As she stalked out, I saw it, every hint of Lucian that every one had ignored. The darkness and grace marked her as his. And then it struck me: She was a princess of two thrones, a rouge arrow, seeking to destroy every threat to her family, and in the middle of a war, she just might kill us all.

I sat in the hall for several hours, thinking of my life.

I shook off the chill that had invaded my body. I had other things to do. I headed for the boy first. I blended into the shadows, trusting them to keep me hidden from prying eyes. Unconscious, he was heavier than earlier, but he wasn't fighting me now. I'd watched this boy grow up, just like the others in the castle, but I'd missed the day that he'd grown up, when he'd ceased to be his twin's doormat. Whatever he was, he was stronger than his Alpha wolf sister. It was a thing of legend, a Rowan stronger than a wolf, unheard of.

When I entered Lilly's chambers, a few of the lights were still on. She was talking to someone, "My lady, I can help you, but I can't take you where you want to go. I will help you out of the castle, but I'm worthless beyond that."

"Then you're of no use to me."

I stepped out of the shadows, "But I am."

The maid she was speaking to shrieked softly, but stayed in her place. "How?" Lilly asked, and I could tell by her body language for the first time, that she was in pain.

"I can shift unnoticed through the boundary, all we need to do is get out of the castle." Lilly stiffened, and I noticed that she was wearing some of her Forks clothes, jeans and a gray sweater I didn't recognize, but assumed it was her human's, seeing as it was too big for her.

Her eyes flitted to her brother on my left shoulder, but she held her tongue. "When can we leave?"

I glanced to the maid, Michaela, I recalled, "How about now? Seeing as I've already collected your brother."

The girl nodded and Lilly pressed her lips into a firm line, "Now will be just fine."

Turns out, the painting next to the Princess's bed had a tunnel behind it that led to the servants quarters. We followed Michaela through tunnels for what I'm sure was a good hour. When we finally emerged, we were in the middle of a town that rested three miles out of the castle walls. Michaela took her leave then, disappearing back into the depths.

I took the Princess's hand in my own, and marveled at it for a few seconds, she reminded me so much of my love it hurt. I shook my head and concentrated on a place in the middle of the woods just outside of the town of Forks.

I wanted to whoop in triumph at my success, but it was short lived. I dropped to my knees, when a loud bang ran through out the clearing. Pain bloomed in my chest, and I heard Lilly scream. I thought she was being attacked, until I felt her hands on my chest, applying pressure. The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was two men with horrified expressions on their faces approaching us. And then the world went dark.

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And there it is folks...a cliffhanger! I feel so evil!

Hope you liked it, and take the time to pop me a review,

-Jenn


	6. Shatter Glass

Yeah! Chapter Six! And I must say, Finally! This chapter should hopefully clear up loads of stuff as well as set the scene for when Lilly and Seth get back together! *squeals in excitement* I'm sorry for being so strange, but I've been writing an essay on the Zhou Dynasty in China all day, so my brain is a little fried.

I've added some stuff to my freewebs, and I encourage everyone to check it and my other stories out. For any of you who care, I'm working on getting chapters for **ALL** of my other stories out soon. I've just rediscovered a bunch of stuff and actually figured out where the heck I was going with them.

Enjoy and Review!  
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Shatter Glass**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Dicey Davenport**_

Everyone just stared at each other. Some stared at me, but most at Jaden. The tension in the room was stifling. The silence was broken by the low hum of a cell phone. Dr. Cullen reached into his coat pocket, still not taking his eyes off me. I couldn't hear what was being said, but when the nausea that had been building turned into dizziness, I knew. I eased down, my eyes glued to the floor in front of me. My eyesight blurred, but I remained conscious by some fate of miracles, "Rave." I croaked out, the world spinning around me.

Billy lopped over and tugged on my arm, "Mommy, are you okay?"

I reached up a hand, and touched the side of the seven year olds face, "I'm okay, kiddo. Really, just need to find daddy, that's all." I tried to keep all the disorientation and fear out of my voice. He and Zaria were the two that I couldn't let get worked up, but especially him.

Jaden was at my side in a flash, Lysander deposited with Izzy, "Rave? Where? What happened?"

I kept my head between my knees, "I don't know."

He pulled my short hair away from my face, and put his hands on my neck, the cool temperature helped me concentrate a little better, "Dicey, I need you to tell me where he is? I can't help him if I don't know where he is."

I knew what he was saying was true, but I couldn't concentrate as closely as I needed to. I really wanted to get sick, "I don't know Jaden, but he's hurt badly."

"What happened?"

I lifted my head slightly, and put a hand to my chest, where a sharp pain kept hitting every few seconds. I watched as Dr. Cullen hung up his phone, "I'm not sure what you're talking about, but we need to go. All of this," He gestured to Sander and Jaden. ",will need to be discussed later."

Jaden growled, "My son is not a thing."

I grabbed his wrist, "Jaden, not now."

He looked torn, but nodded, "Yes, okay. My apologies, continue."

"That was the hospital. They wanted me too, but they couldn't reach Charlie on his phone, so they called me first instead. They just got a man brought in with a severe gunshot wound to the abdomen." He glanced at his daughter, "He had two teenagers with him."

I sighed, wanting to cry and smile at the same time, "How is he?"

Dr. Cullen looked down, and my heart skipped a beat, "They said that unless I can do something, he won't make it through the night."

I grabbed Jaden's wrist, "I need to get there now!" The movement made the urge to vomit stronger.

He grabbed me under my shoulders and sat me on my feet, the world spun, "Dicey, I know you'll only be pissed if I carry you, so walk. I'll steer."

My knees giveaway, and he caught me. I grabbed his shirt, and pulled his face down, "Jaden. He's dying! We don't have time!"

That was when the last sixteen years of my life came crashing down on me. I began to sob uncontrollably, and Jaden just stared at me, totally confused at the display of an emotion he had never seen on me. He put me down, giving me space to cry.

What happened next stunned me. I felt hot hands on my back, and then I was engulfed in a hug. It was Seth, had to be. Neither Marcus nor Jeremy were as muscled as the man holding me was, "I don't know who you are or what's going on, but you're Lilly's aunt. She wouldn't want me to let you cry." I stifled the tears, and sat frozen, knowing full well that Seth needed to go to the hospital too. She would be there. Rave had made his move without telling me. Although I didn't know why he would have another teenager with him.

"Thank you." I said. Rave must have passed out because now the world was steady again. The boy pulled away and grinned. I knew what she saw in him. He was stable, compassionate, and level headed. Like Rave, he could counter act the hair brained enthusiasm that Lilly and I shared.

I had the insatiable urge to tell him everything. To tell him what I'd hidden for almost seventeen years. But I couldn't. It wouldn't be right, and Rave needed me now…he needed to be the first to know, actually. Instead, I decided to use my gift. "Seth, on my honor, I will…"

"Dicey…" Jaden said in warning.

I ignored him. I knew what I was doing. "On my honor, Seth Clearwater, son of Harry, I will tell you and Lilly the truth about everything after everything settles down. And when I mean settles down, I mean no later than next week. If I'm alive then, I will tell you, and everything will be sat right."

"What?"

I felt the power running through me. I felt the black tattoo like mark come in. Arching, it would curve from just above my eyebrow and end just on top of my cheekbone. About three millimeters wide, it was a mark of what I was, a Broker. Holly kept the other marks hidden, I had three before now. One for the beginning, the second from Jaden, and the third was from my parents, it kept me from crossing the border as long as one of my kin were in control. As a Broker, my parents knew that they could never out live me, stipulations were the best thing they ever taught me. This fourth mark rested just outside the one that had started it all. It was what the marks didn't tell that haunted me the most. I was covered in so many more lies than these four truths could ever imagine trying to fix, but they would have to do.

"Dicey!" Jaden hissed, "What have you done?"

As the power of the deal faded, my nausea returned. I staggered to the door, and Jaden as at my side, at least I thought it was him, but instead, it was the Cullen girl, Alice. She smiled blindingly at me, "It's okay I understand. Everything will work out."

I didn't respond, I had no clue as to what these vampires could do. I didn't want to give them too much of my throat to chew on incase things went bad.

Of course things could go bad. Without Rave, we had nothing to calm the king. He would kill us all before I could even try to convince him that I was still the same girl I was so long ago. The way Jaden drove, worse than a real teenager I might say, we were at the hospital in ten minutes.

Now that I was closer, I could feel Rave. Like a mouse in a maze, I followed the pull. I'd never come to the hospital, but I knew which places to turn like I did it everyday. I was vaguely aware of the Cullen's following me, but nothing really mattered. He was in the Intensive Care Unit. Several people tried to stop me, but I walked right past them, deaf and blind to their protest.

I wanted to cry when I found him. Lying on a bed of white linen, his tanned features stood out starkly. Even under his naturally tan skin, he was pale, sweat beading on his skin. He was on a respirator, and had several machines hooked up to him. What bothered me most was the bag of blood they had attached to his arm. His chest was bandaged, the white gauze attaining a pale pink color in the center of it. He'd been shot in the chest with a hunting rifle designed to kill. He was dying. I rushed forward, and took the hand without any wires and tubes, "Rave, I'm here." I brushed his dark hair from his face, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

I turned to the vampires. The Cullen's were talking under their breaths to each other, undoubtedly trying to figure out what the heck was going on. They had run, leaving Seth with Police Chief Swan. "Do any of you have a pocket knife?" It seemed like a stupid question to ask, but the one called Edward, produced one from his pocket. He tossed it to me, and I flicked the blade out expertly.

"Wait!" Alice said, and I glared over my shoulder at her. "Jazz isn't quite immune to blood totally."

I rolled my eyes, "You've spent time with my youngest niece, no?" She nodded hesitantly, "Then trust me, he'll be fine." With that I pulled the respirator out of Rave's throat, careful enough as to not hurt him, but not very gently either. Wickedly, I hoped he'd be hoarse when he spoke for the next week. Determined, I drew the blade shallowly across my wrist, and held the oozing wound just over his mouth.

As soon as the first drop of blood hit his tongue, his eyes snapped open. He was suddenly animated, his free hand jerking up to hold my wrist to his mouth as he suckled like an infant. When the wounds bleeding slowed, I knew what would happen, but I still wasn't prepared when he sat up, and sunk his extended fangs into my throat.

It hurt, his pointed fangs ripping at my neck. I didn't move. I couldn't. I had to allow him to have his fill, or his wounds wouldn't heal, and he would die. I got a bitter taste in my mouth when I thought about it, he only ever needed me when he was injured. That was enough for me, I threaded my fingers in his hair, and held him close. He kept draining me until my eyesight began to blur. Luckily, he seemed to be sated, and removed his teeth from my skin. His arms remained locked around my shoulders, and I didn't have the energy to try to fight him off. "Di?" He whispered into my ear, and sure enough, his voice was raspy. I got a little pleasure out of that fact.

Anger flooded back into my mind, and he felt it, letting me go. I got off the bed, one hand moving up to my throat, for a few seconds, the blood oozed through my finger, but it healed quickly, his venom sealing the wound. "No, you SOB. I'm just some poor idiot you stuck your fangs in. I sure hope nothing else like that's happened with anything else of yours." I snapped at him.

His eyes narrowed at my accusation that he had been unfaithful, "You're angry."

I quirked an eyebrow at him, "How'd you guess?"

He frowned, and ran a finger across the new mark next to my eye, "Dicey, what did you do?"

"Nothing of your concern." I growled, and suddenly his dark eyes were filled with mirth.

"We never change do we?" He had the audacity to laugh at me, as he tucked a short blond hair behind my ear.

Sadness overwhelmed me, and a desperate ache to take him by his hand and take him away from this place, away from the vampires, formed. I pushed it down, and pulled away from him, "No, Rave, you changed. I'm the one that's stayed the same, not you."

I gave him a look that told him to hold his tongue, and prayed that he listened. How ever angry I was with him, I could never say that my Rave was stupid. He kept silent. I turned to the Cullen's, "I bet right now you've got a million questions for me, and I'll answer as many as I can for as long as we're alone."

"What are you?" Edward asked.

I smiled, I wasn't the one they should be asking that question, "I'm a human."

Rave put a hand on my shoulder, "Di, play nicely."

"I've gotten along just fine without your help, Rave Magnus, now kindly keep your mouth closed." I heard him huff and his jaw snap closed, his teeth grinding, no doubt trying to figure out how to exact his revenge on me for simply being me. I started again, knowing I didn't have time to play games with them, "I'm human, but I'm gifted. All you need to know, is that my gift can't be used to cause outright harm to anyone. Now Rave, on the other hand, it what's called a Rowan."

Carlisle's eyes lit up, and he suddenly reminded me of some insane scientist waiting on the results of a new experiment. "Rowan?"

"The Rowan are sort of a mix between vampires and werewolves, only not." I paused, not exactly sure what else to say, "Like werewolves, Rowan have animal forms, depends on personality what animal, but they aren't bound to the lunar cycle."

Alice grabbed Carlisle's shirt sleeve in excitement, over what I'd no clue, "Like the wolves?"

He hushed her and motioned for me to continue, "Rowan have high thresholds of pain, but heal very slowly. Unless mated, a Rowan can die from a simple wound, just due to infection. Rowan imprint, for nearly every Rowan there is another that is their soul mate. I'm Rave's mate. I felt him get shot. I couldn't tell what had happened till I got closer, but I knew he was hurt. Rowan heal faster than werewolves if they can drink their mates blood, like a vampire needs blood to survive. I honestly have no idea as to what the rest of the details are."

"Dicey." Rave said, his voice warning enough.

"Actually, there is one more thing. The probability of a Rowan being gifted it nearly ten times higher than that of a human."

The blond one that seemed to be Alice's finally spoke, "Why did you act so strangely around Seth?"

I made a stress noise, and looked at Rave in panic, I hadn't expected them to try to connect my brother and his family so soon. Rave grinned, and got off the hospital bed. I was so reliant on him, and when he wrapped his arms around me, I relaxed but let him speak, "I'm a guard of Lilly's. I was instructed to follow her on her outings with Seth. It's really obvious."

"What's obvious?" Alice asked.

"Seth is her mate."

"Lilly's Rowan?"

I nodded, taking back control, "Yes, and if it's true that he's her mate, than she's not going to react well to seeing him again."

"Why not?" Carlisle asked.

I bit my lip, "Adolescent Rowan are incredibly volatile. It's when they most resemble vampires. I haven't seen Lilly in years, so I'm not sure how much control she'll have…"

"Not much." Rave interrupted, "Lilly's always been impulsive. Nothing's changed."

"Well then, it's going to be pretty bad. She won't want to hurt him, but she probably will."

Edward looked frustrated, "Why?"

I looked to the floor, "Because, the reason they are volatile is because of the bloodlust. Once they've met their mate, after they've made the transformation, they must take the blood of their mate. It's almost impossible for them to resist the pull of their mate's blood."

"What happens if they don't get their mates blood?"

I couldn't answer, my voice stuck in my throat, and Rave's arms tightened around me. When he responded, his voice was thick with painful memory, "If they don't get the blood, then they get what's called the Stigma. And they die."

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Hah! And I give you a suspensful semi-cliffie! Yay! I feel evil! That's just as well....I can't survive highschool if I'm too nice.

I'm really feeling the need for reviews, so please, leave me one...even if it's only a few words....please?

Thanks for Reading!

-Jenn


	7. Taste Of Copper

Well crap....it's been a while. I'm sorry. Been busy. But, as a consolation, I'm adding a little treat on the end! I've been working on a back story for Elaine/Dicey, and I have decided to let you all see a little of it. (Still not sure what to do with it in the long run though.) So, this chapter moves fairly quickly, but I hope in the end, I gave everyone what they expected.

Lilly is a sweetheart, really, just don't piss her off and you're just fine. Dicey is just the same, keep that in mind. (K, knows what I'm talking about. Tehee.)  
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Taste Of Copper**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Lilly Davenport**_

If I'd felt like my life had been a mess before, it was nothing compared to this. The Stigma was growing. I hadn't been able to feel the tips of the fingers on my left hand for about ten minutes now, and the rest of my arm was numb, tingling painfully every time I tried to move it. I could feel the Stigma pulling at the side of my neck, and my chest felt tight. I sat curled up next to my unconscious twin, staring at my own arm as the veins in it turned varying shades of gray. It was morbidly pretty. My skin was pale, and my veins were protruding, even the tiniest were graying to the undeniable black.

Oliver was fine, as far as I could tell. He just wouldn't wake up. People had been in and out of the room, asking questions. I'd ignored them all.

I smiled bitterly. I was getting everyone killed. I'd seen the wound in Rave's chest. I didn't know if he was mated or not, but if he wasn't, he was as good as dead. Oliver too. He'd be no better off even if he did wake up. Our parents would be required to have him killed.

And me, I was dying. I couldn't breath right, the Stigma had reached my lungs, the tissue dying, and making every breath I drew painful. I coughed, and felt liquid running down my chin, blood I realized slowly. I was getting dizzy, my brain lacking oxygen. I didn't have long. That didn't bother me; I was prepared to die in my brother's arms. It was better than dying alone, even if he wouldn't even know I was there.

I wished Seth were with me. I guess I could die with my only regret being that I hadn't told him the truth. I should have told him what I was, who I was, and where I was from. I didn't deserve him anyway. At least this way I wouldn't have to live with the fact that I had left him.

Black spots interrupted my vision. They expanded and everything was dark. My heart was stopping, beating slower and slower.

Thud…

Thud……

Thud………

Thud…………

Nothing………

The stillness stretched on. Nothing moved, the air around me was still. I wasn't warm. I wasn't cold. Nothing. I was counting the seconds until my brain stopped working.

Thirteen…

Fifteen……

Sixteen……

"Lilly!"

An instant later, I felt like I'd been electrocuted. I gasped, and oxygen filled my lungs. My heart was thrumming in my chest again. My sight flooded back, and my blood rushed through my body. Seth. My entire being was focused on him. He was near. Down the hall maybe. A few floors away at least. I jerked forward. My mouth hurt. I vaguely realized that my fangs were digging into the skin of my bottom lip.

I pushed through the door, and couldn't stop, slamming into the wall across the hall. I staggered down the corridor, my mind consumed as my hunger flared through my body.

"Lilly!" My sight began to blur again. I was crying. I think. I collapsed, the new strength fleeing my body. Strong arms caught me. Seth. "Lilly, oh my god. Lilly! Carlisle! Someone! I need help!"

I wanted to tell him to stop yelling, it hurt my head, but I couldn't speak. His voice was beautiful, deep and resonating, but that wasn't what I wanted. I was close to the pulse in his neck. My head was on his shoulder. So close. I opened my mouth, wetting my lips with my tongue. I pushed my mouth closer to his jugular.

"Seth, watch out!" He jerked away from me, just as my teeth had been positioned over his skin. I growled, but a new set of arms jerked me back.

"Lilly, stop! Lilly!" I couldn't take my eyes off Seth to abide Jacob's commanding voice. My eyes were glued to him, and I saw the shock and pain flash behind his.

Amongst the protest from Seth and the heavy breathing from Jacob, a calm voice permeated, "Jacob, let her go. She won't hurt him."

I agreed with the female voice. I would never hurt Seth.

"What?" My captor asked, obviously mistrusting of me, the voice, or the both of us.

"I said let her go. If you don't, she'll die within the next few minutes." Didn't they know? I was already dead. I'd just listened to myself die.

"Jacob, let her go!" Seth yelled, and he consented. The arms released me, and I slammed into the tile.

I kept my eyes glued to Seth, and half crawled half staggered back to him. He met me half way. Grabbing me, he held me to his chest, "Lilly, what do you need. What can I do?" He had a hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair.

I brought my mouth back to his throat, my mind centered. I whispered, "Hold still and forgive me."

He jerked when my fangs broke his skin, his arms falling from me. His blood was flowing across my tongue, and I drank it down like water. It was far from water though. It tasted like copper and Seth. Within the copper, I could taste his emotions. He was relieved, confused and a little scared. With every pulse of his heart, I grew stronger.

There was something wild in his blood. A side I'd never seen before, something that I'd never even guessed. It was a fire that coursed through his veins. In my mind, I saw it in him, stronger in Jacob, and when I looked to myself, I was astounded to see it in me.

I knew what it was, wolf. I didn't understand why I saw it in them too, but I did. He wasn't human. I didn't think he was like me, but my human boyfriend wasn't human. My mind couldn't process it, and I tried to pull away from him. I couldn't though, my body was in control, not my mind. I continued to gulp down his blood, my eyes wide in shock, and my arms clasped around his neck.

He wasn't struggling any more, and for an instant I was afraid that I'd killed him. Then, his arms snaked around my back, and he pulled me closer, "Lilly, I forgive you." His voice rumbled in his chest, "But please, tell me what's going on."

I tightened my arms, giving him a hug of sorts. A few seconds later, my fangs detracted.

I put my head on his shoulder, "I will." I whispered into the skin of his neck, and watched it heal. "Seems like I'm not the only one that needs to explain something."

"You're wearing my jacket."

I grinned, "And your pants."

He laughed, "I love you."

I wiped my lips with the back of my hand when I pulled back from him. There was no need for him to see his own blood on my lips.

"Lilly." I heard a small voice gasp out.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw the woman. She was young, blonde, tall, and very thin, "Aunt Elaine?"

It had been ten years since I had seen her, but she hadn't changed in the slightest. She nodded, a smile growing on her face.

I put myself between her and Seth. "You haven't changed."

She looked confused, and then her eyebrows jerked up. She held her hands out in a placating manner, "Oh, Lilly, no, no. Sweetie, I'm not a vampire."

I shook my head, "You haven't aged at all. I know you're not Rowan."

"Yes, I'm not, but I'm a Broker."

"Oh." I said, relaxing instantly as I noticed the thin tattoos on both sides of her face.

Seth took my hand, and I clutched it. "I think we need to go somewhere and talk." He said, and I nodded.

"Oliver is down the hall."

I led Seth to the room. I knew Elaine and Dr. Cullen were following us, but I let the door slam closed behind me, hoping to discourage adult company.

"I missed you." He said, his voice husky and his face serious.

Dropping Seth's hand, I sat near Oliver's feet, bending his knees out of my way gently, and held his lukewarm hand in my own. "I missed you too." I whispered, ashamed of my actions in the last week.

I felt insanely safe in this room, with my twin and my mate. Seth's eyes were watching my every move with rapt attention. "I'm Rowan." I said, and judged the look on his face for a moment before continuing, "We're creatures of magic. There's so much I need to tell you. Um…brief version is that you're my mate, we are bound together for as long as both of us are alive, and I would never ever hurt you. Oh…and did I mention that I can turn into a wolf?" I trailed off with a painful laugh.

He looked shocked, and I waited for the fear I had anticipated to surface. It never did, I'd forgotten he wasn't human either. He took my free hand in his hot hands, such a difference from my brother's, and stared me in the eyes, "Lilly, I'm a werewolf. You are my imprint. I feel exactly the same way you do."

"I love you too." I said, smiling at him.

And we started talking, the truth flowing from our lips for the first time in the vast past of our short relationship.

We were so much alike. I'd never dreamed that I would ever be able to imprint on someone as powerful as I was. Wolves are the strongest, and Raven Magnus and I were the last two Wolves of Avalon. The best thing about it, I wouldn't outlive Seth for long, he and his pack had the same life cycle we did. I was entranced by the dynamics of Seth's pack. Everything that I had picked up from Jacob and Sam was true.

The fact that in wolf form they could share thoughts bothered me though. What did they know about me that my own brother didn't? I flushed at that thought, "Um…so does that mean they knew every time we almost…" I trailed off, and he laughed tensely.

"Unfortunately."

Collecting myself, I grinned at Seth, getting off the bed, and crossing the short distance between us. "So, for example, if I sat like this," I sat in Seth's lap, like I had in his mother's kitchen what seemed like forever ago, "and did this," I kissed him, curling my fingers in his hair. I pulled back when I needed to breath, "that Jacob would know?"

Seth was gasping for air slightly, a blush under his tan skin. Nodding he stammered out, "I think the whole pack knows what you do to me."

Someone knocked on the door, "Hey, you two, time to come out and talk to the rest of us. Break it up."

"Jacob." I sighed, "has the worst timing known to man."

"Or the best!" He shouted from the hall.

I heard someone get on to him about yelling, and he commented that it was the coma unit, no one else cared. The nurse really didn't have anything else to say after that.

Seth and I walked outside, hand in hand.

Jacob looked smug, slouched in a chair across the hallway, alone, "Are you two done?"

"Shut up." Seth growled, and I squeezed his hand.

Jacob held up his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. Carlisle and the crazy lady are in his office with some of the others. They want to talk to Lilly."

"Oh." Seth said, his body tensing.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

He said nothing, but continued to hold my hand as we followed Jacob through the maze of halls.

There was an office near the emergency room christened with Dr. Cullen's name, and Jacob opened the door.

"Jacob, Seth, Lilly, please, sit down." The doctor said as we entered. He was strikingly handsome, I'd never taken the time to really look at him before, but he was.

My aunt looked stricken, sitting next to the doctor, pale and gaunt up close, stress obvious on her thin frame, "Lilly, Ivy is dead." I heard her say, and I froze in disbelief.

"What? No, that's impossible, I was just with her yesterday morning." I vaguely heard the door open and close behind me.

"Lilly," My aunt began.

"No, Elaine." A deep voice said from behind, Rave, I recalled through my stunned fog. So he was alive, somehow. "She's telling the truth. I saw the girl yesterday. Both of the bright one's were in the caverns for the funeral. The telekinetic was with her pyromaniac twin."

"What?" Seth asked.

"Some of the Rowan have gifts. Ivy is a telekinetic, and Moss pyrokinetic." My aunt replied.

"Lilly, are you gifted?" Seth asked, shifting away from me a bit.

"No." I said, "Never have been, and never will. Being a wolf is enough for me."

He smiled at me, and once again molded the side of his body to my own.

Suddenly, my aunt shot up, "Is someone guarding Oliver?"

Jacob shook his head, "No, why should someone be?"

"Yes, he's an animator. If someone were to get their hands on him." She shook her head, hissing softly.

"An animator?" Carlisle asked.

Aunt Elaine sat back down, "He draws," I answered, "and sometimes, if he wants them to, the things he draw, come to life. He can draw things out of nothing, they used to be called Creators. His gift isn't as uncommon as Gerry's, but most animators don't live very long. They're too powerful, and a lot of them are killed soon after their talent is discovered."

"Why?" Seth asked.

I looked at him, fighting the insane urge to run back to my brother, "Think about it, Seth, my brother could draw an army of bloodthirsty vampires, and not even break a sweat."

"Oh."

Dr. Cullen stared at me, "What do you know about vampires?"

I shrugged, "Not much, only that they are pale and have…oh." I said, as I looked at Dr. Cullen, "Oh!"

My aunt laughed, "My, you are a smart one, aren't you. The whole lot of them are vampires. In this town, Cullen means vampire."

I glared at her, "Did you give my father this much trouble?"

Some unknown emotion flashed behind her eyes, and she smiled sadly, "Worse, I knew him." She looked at Rave, and I suddenly felt like I was missing something.

Rave looked confused and nearly the same amount he looked like he was in pain. "Elaine, be nice."

She grinned at him, "I'm not that bad."

He looked angry, "Shut up, Elaine."

She stood up, suddenly looking like a very real threat, "I am not Elaine." She said, "I'm done here. I need to get back to the kids."

We all watched stunned, as she walked past him to the door. He grabbed her wrist, "Laine, don't leave."

She didn't look at him, "Let me go, Raven."

The tall man released her, looking hurt and conflicted.

She left, the door slamming with a definite thud.

"What was that about?" I asked him.

He swallowed hard, "Old history. You're too young to care."

"She called you Raven."

He half smiled, "And I called her Laine. Old history, dear one. We were best friends before we hated each other. Don't laugh, I know it's hard to tell, but there will always be a part of me that regrets how things turned out."

I stood, and ignoring the growl from Seth, wrapped my arms around Rave. He completed the hug, "It will be okay. Things will work out. Promise." I whispered, to the only thing in this room that had been with me since before I could remember.

* * *

You like it? I hope you did, anyway, here's your treat!

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"Elaine, meet your new baby brother. His name is Chrysanthemum. We'll call him Chrys." Are the first words I can ever remember being spoken to me. I remember looking at the bundle in my mother's arms and wondering if I had ever been that small and pink. I'd just been a year and three months old. Memory fades so quickly. It's funny really. I'll never know why that memory chose to stay with me, but it did. I'd been so young, but I still remembered the ruddy little thing that cried in our mother's arms so few hours after he'd entered the world. Mum had been tired, father more stressed still. I could still remember the smell of sweat and blood in the room, my father's tight hold on my hand, and my mother's soft touch on my cheek.

According to my mother, at first I'd rejected the squalling infant as anything to me. It had taken several days for me to even look closely at him. We share the same eyes, luminescent silver. That was the first thing that struck me about Chrys. That's all I can remember too. As he grew, we would discover that he had the same hair as me too, blond the color of fresh wheat dipped in liquid sunshine.

Over the next few years my brother and I grew closer, and by the time I was seven, we were nearly inseparable. Chrys followed me everywhere. He was my best friend, and I was his protector, his big sister. I took my job very seriously, and when I noticed that he'd vanish for hours at a time, I began to worry. I spent weeks trying to follow him, but the little rat gave me the slip every time.

He woke up sick one morning, and mum made him stay in bed. I was so happy. Wherever he'd been going, he wouldn't be going today. "Elaine?" My brother had called hoarsely.

I'd skipped over to his bed, my long blond hair swinging around my waist, "What's wrong?"

He smiled at me weakly, "Can I ask you to keep a secret?" I nodded enthusiastically, "Promise?"

"Promise."

"Okay, I need you to go to the stables with a loaf of bread and some cheese."

"Why?" I asked, wondering why in the three worlds my brother would ask me to do something so peculiar.

He looked guilty, "My friend needs food."

"What friend?"

He grinned mischievously, "He lives in the stables. I meet him there everyday!" He suddenly looked worried, "Please, Elaine, he'll go hungry if he doesn't get his food!"

I scoffed, "What kind of friend do you have that's close to starving? I've never seen anyone like that. I've never even seen a kid in the barn!"

"Elaine! He hides. Of course no one's seen him you stupid head!"

I was torn between hitting him and just walking away like mum would tell me to do. "Chrys, if you're lying to me and I get in trouble…" I let the threat hang in the air.

"Elaine! I wouldn't get you in trouble."

"What about that time when you ate all the cook's cake batter and blamed it on me? I couldn't sit right for a week father was so angry."

The little blond boy blushed under his fevered cheeks, "I promise you this time it's true."

"He'd better not be an imaginary friend either. I don't cater to people whom don't exist." I told my brother, keeping my voice as stern as I could in the face of the sick little boy,

"He does!" Chrys shouted, and dissolved into a coughing fit.

Against my better judgment, I went, bread and cheese in hand. I'd been sitting in the stable for nearly ten minutes, losing faith in the legitimacy of my brother's plea when a voice came from behind me. "Who are you?"

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So, please, tell me what you think. Reviews are welcome, and I'd love to know your thoughts.

-Jenn


	8. Closed Doors Opening

Hello again! I hope all of my fellow Americans had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This chapter is a lot shorter than the others have been, but the ending was a perfect place to stop...you just might hate me though. ;)

So I was being retarded, and named one of the kids at Dicey's school Marcus...just thought I'd say that he has absolutly no connection to the Marcus of the Volturi... blame me!

And remember, I own everyone Stephanie Meyer doesn't.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the next one should be up shortly...depending on reviews, so review!  
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Closed Doors Opening**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Elaine Dice Davenport**_

The feel of his touch on my wrist seared his image into my body. I was almost crying again before I reached Jaden's car. That exchange of words was too like one Rave and I had had in our younger years. I had spoken nearly the same words as Lilly on the day I had met the boy I had named Raven.

I'd never put much effort into running away from Rave. I should have, but I just couldn't disappear like I wanted to. I'd tried once, but had only managed to live in Arizona for the first two years of my exile before moving back to the are outlying Forks.

That was when I met Marcus. I'd met his father when I had applied for a position as a social worker in Arizona. Dallas Beard was an easygoing man, and had taken an interest in my future. He'd been surprised to discover I had an interest in gifted at risk kids. After everything I had done, I wanted to help others from making the same mistakes as I did.

A year after I met him, Dallas made a confession once I told him that I was used to things that were out of the ordinary. His son, Marcus, was special. The eight-year old boy would vanish when he got angry. I hadn't quite understood what Dallas had meant until he brought me home to meet his wife and his bipolar son.

I could hear a child screaming before Dallas even opened the door, "Kelly!" He yelled, as he yanked the key out of the lock.

A red haired woman ducked out of a doorway with a desperate look on her face, "Dallas!" She sighed, and rushed forward to hug her husband with an excitement that hurt me.

"Kelly, this is my colleague Elaine. Elaine, Kelly, my wife."

The woman and I shook hands. She smiled tightly, putting a hand on her obviously pregnant stomach, "Dallas told me you're the one that is good with behaviorally challenged kids…" She paused, "and the special ones."

I nodded, "Yes, so where is Marcus."

"He's in the kitchen." Kelly Beard said, her voice and face tense.

I looked at Dallas, seemingly just as nervous as his wife about showing someone their deep dark secret.

The kitchen was a bright, open room. I imagined a normal family would spend a great deal of time in a room like this. A boy was throwing tomatoes at the wall. A sack of them had been put on the counter, as an obvious effort by his mother to keep him occupied while she went to greet us.

Calmly, I walked between the boy and the wall, staring him in the eyes, "Hello, Marcus."

He was a cute little boy, sandy blonde hair and big brown eyes distantly reminding me of my nephew Nigel. Marcus' face contorted into a sneer I found rather amusing, "Who are you?"

I reached forward and gently took a tomato from his hand, "I'm Elaine. I work with your dad."

He reached for the red vegetable in my hand, "Give me that!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

Suddenly, he became translucent, like the image of the boy was just light reflecting off smoke. After a few seconds, he disappeared entirely.

I had raised an eyebrow at Dallas, "I see your problem. How do you punish a kid you can't see?"

I spent weeks gaining Marcus' trust, then making him take his pills for his bi polar problem that I knew didn't help his control. After his ninth birthday, we started talking about his gift. I explained to him about Avalon, and he told me what he was afraid of. It was a very real fear for someone with his ability. Since he couldn't control it yet, he was terrified that one-day he would fade away and never come back.

Even with most of my energies at work and with Marcus, I still had had time to contemplate my past mistakes. In a leap of faith, I decided to move back to Washington. The dry, sunny climate of Arizona was too different.

If I had been smart, I would have gone some place like Texas, just to be a little farther from the Rowan American shift point. Forks, Washington was a hot spot for shifting over the veil, just like the one near our burial grounds in Volterra, Italy.

As a broker, I was one of the only ones that could move freely across the veil as a human. At least I had been able to. The ache had always been that I could never go back, not even to fix things. If I tried, I would die. As I would if I ever broke any of my deals.

When Marcus' behavior deteriorated in my absence, his parents begged me to come back, and when I denied their request, they gave me a new offer. They were so desperate, that they would want to send their nine and a half year old to live with a thirty three year old single woman.

For the sake of the boy's sanity, and the safety of his new baby sister, Ashley, I consented.

Marcus living with me seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. I got a job in Port Angeles, and put him in school. The school didn't last too long, but I couldn't be angry at him, he just didn't fit in. This was about the same time that Raven found me.

When Marcus opened the door, the men stared at each other. I was watching from the kitchen, my heart turned cold and my blood ran hot. Rave pushed past Marcus, just in time to catch me as my knees gave way, "Elaine!" He was so warm. I clung to him, crying like a child. In his arms, I could pretend that he was the only thing I was missing, the only thing I regretted.

That thought brought me out of the past. I was still standing in front of Jaden's car, the keys clutched in my hand. I wanted to get far away, but this was probably the only opportunity I would have to see Lilly and her brother. I brushed away my tears, and returned to the interior of the hospital. I aptly remembered the room Lilly had come bursting out of as the coma ward. Minutes later, I was standing in front of his door. No one was inside.

Oliver was on his back, his arms and legs straight at his sides. If one ignored the tubes and wires attached to him, he almost looked like he was sleeping. With a shaking hand, I reached out and touched a few strands of his dark hair. It reminded me of Rave's. I knew that if his eyes had been open, I would see my own.

He was the only one that I was fairly certain knew of my secret. And that thought terrified me. God how I hated myself. And I loved this boy.

I took one of his large hands in my own. I studied it in amazement. It was a hand of power. As an Animator, he could create, but I could tell that he could just as easily destroy. He was young still—one couldn't expect him to know all ways of the world yet.

He had come to me the other day. His eyes had been silenced into quiet rage as he had approached me. Looking at him, I couldn't breath. It had taken everything in my power not to cry then as I was crying now. He had looked so much like him. Oliver had stared me down with my own eyes, and had told me he knew my secret. I had fumbled to explain, not really saying anything, and he had flown into a rage, before easily being subdued by Jeremy and Marcus.

I had begged him to go home, pressing the necessity that he kept silent about whatever knowledge he had. He didn't understand, that my exile had just been a formality. I gave up everything seven years before then so he would live.

Now I wish I had just told him to tell everyone. I was tired of lying to those I loved. I smoothed his hair, "I promise, I'll tell them. I can't hurt any of you any longer." I kissed his forehead, "But you have to live for me. You and Lilly both."

The door opened behind me, "Excuse me, but you can't be in here." A woman's voice said from behind me.

I didn't turn around. Instead I put the back of his hand against my face, breathing in his scent under the sterile hospital smell, "I have every right to be here."

"Please, Miss, only family are allowed in these rooms."

I took a deep breath, prepared to die so that someone knew the truth, "I am family." I steeled myself, "I'm his mother."

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Haha! Cliffy! I think that deserves a review or two.

Until next time!

-Jenn


	9. Cold Hearted

Okay, so it's been forever... I'm really sorry. It's late right now, and I've spent the last two hours finishing this chapter. Bad News: I'm sick as a dog. Good news: The next chapter is nearly half way done already. So, I'll see you all soon. I really hope to get some more reviews this chapter.  
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Cold Heart**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**Hollyhock Adendril Daven Debrokav-Volturi**_

I slipped back into my room shortly before dawn. I changed from the funeral dress I was still wearing quickly, opting for a black tank top and a silver silk scarf, matched with the tight black jeans I'd become so fond of during my time in the human world instead. I was glad I was able to see what I was wearing for a change

Today was a good day. My eyesight had been coming and going for weeks now. Sometimes I could go for days without being able to see anything at all. I used my vampire-enhanced senses of smell, touch and hearing to figure out where things and people were. For the most part, I managed to make my eyes appear to be following people when I was in the room with other people, but I really saw nothing.

Gerry found me almost the instant I left my room, "Holly!"

I scooped her up, "What?"

She quirked a tiny little smile, "Momma is being bad again."

"What are you talking about?"

She giggled, obviously pleased with herself, "She's making daddy do bad things."

I instantly flushed; I had no desire to know what they were doing. "Gerry, you really shouldn't spy on them. You're too young for stuff like that."

She blinked at me, "They're in the throne room." I sighed in relief, the throne room was public. "What did you think I was talking about?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed as usual.

I laughed, "Nothing sweetie. What are you talking about?"

She glared at me still, "I thought I'd let you know that mother is telling father that his sister was the one that killed Grams."

My blood chilled, "What?" I dropped the child, and she landed on her feet, like the little Ocelot she was.

She glared up at me, "I know you're not deaf. I said, mum is convincing dad that Aunt Elaine some how found a way back here and killed Grams."

"I heard you the first time." I growled, "Come on, let's go." I grabbed the little girl's hand, not willing to wait for her smart-ass reply.

I burst into the throne room moments later. My parents were sitting on their thrones talking. They looked up as the door banged behind me. "Holly?" Anna asked, looking concerned. "Is there anything wrong, dearest?"

I suddenly realized that I had nothing to really protest about. I didn't want to reveal that I'd been spending time in Dicey's house for the last five years because that would only compound the mistrust.

"No…" I said carefully, "I was just wondering what you were talking about."

She smiled, the corners of her eyes wrinkling, "Of course, come here lovely ones."

Gerry was better at hiding her emotions than I was. She skipped forward, and tucked herself under her mother's arm. I always assumed the little girl was simply playing all of us, but I never called her out on it, watching her sweet talk her parents was amusing enough.

I sat on the steps between Anna and Chrys, "I heard you were talking about Aunt Elaine. Have you any news?"

My father groaned, "How does word travel so fast?" He looked at me directly, "Yes, we were discussing my sister."

"About what?" I asked sweetly.

He chuckled, "Ah, curious are you?" I nodded, "We were simply contemplating the possibility that she is responsible for my mother's death."

I stood quickly, towering over the seated couple. "That's a load of rubbish and you know it!" I yelled accusingly.

Anna sighed, "Sweetheart, I don't expect someone as young as you are to understand, but people do things that we sometimes can't understand."

"No," I protested, "I understand perfectly. She couldn't have done it."

"Lovely, please, don't raise your voice, it's rude." Anna said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you two understand."

"Really, well please enlighten us, Hollyhock Daven." My father said.

I pulled my legs to my chest and put my head on my knees, "I remember her. Better than any of you do because of what I am. She was kind and brave, and would never do anything to hurt anyone."

"She didn't exactly get along with our mother." He said, trying desperately to keep Anna and I from going at each other's throats.

"I know! But she did love Grams, and Grams loved her. They were just like you and Lilly. You don't quite get along, but you both know you love each other."

My father's eyes softened, and he brushed a hand through my black curls, "Where did you learn to be such a smart young woman?"

I smiled at him, "You taught me, dad. It doesn't take much to know that there is a second layer to most people that we don't always get to see." Chrys was dense at the best of times, but he was just as kind hearted as his daughter. He and Lilly would go to any lengths to ensure that the truth of any situation was found out, even if it would hurt tem.

He kissed my forehead, "I know, and I don't believe my sister would have killed our mother, she's too smart for that, and there is no evidence that anyone has had any contact with her, also there's not a trace of her crossing the border." He cast a look at Anna, taking her hand into his own. "I recognize you're upset about leaving Forks, but I seriously doubt my sister had anything to do with my mother's death."

The man might not have been my real father, but we had bonded over the years well enough for him to trust my calm exterior over his mate's tension. He was easy to manipulate, and I shot a smug look at Anna, I was better. I'd never recognized Anna as my mother, and she knew it.

I was sure Elaine hadn't done it because I had been there when the messenger had come to tell her that Grams had been killed. She had been shocked, and had locked herself in her room for the rest of the day.

I left the throne room. Gerry stayed in her mother's lap, and my father left through the opposite door.

When I came back to my room, Jaden was there, lounging on my bed, staring at the ceiling. "I was wondering when you'd get back." He said, without diverting his gaze.

I strode forward, lowering myself gently onto his waist, straddling him and looking down into his red-gold eyes. "When did you get here?" I asked softly, planting a kiss on his collarbone.

He wrapped his arms around me, "About half an hour ago."

We lay chest to chest for a few blissful minutes. He was cold as usual, and I was comforted by it. Everyone else around me was too warm. My body was a mess, constantly stuck fighting between my human and vampire DNA. My normal temperature was just cooler than a normal human's, but to me, I always felt like I was burning up.

Jaden was rubbing circles on my back, his strong fingers working like magic on the knots there. "Why are you so anxious?"

I sighed, "They think Elaine killed Grams."

He stopped moving, "What?"

"Anna is trying to convince dad that Elaine came back somehow and killed Grams."

He tensed, "I have something I need to tell you."

I didn't like the sound of his voice. Sitting up, I looked down at him, "What is it?" He sat up too, moving me to sit in front of him. Whatever he had to tell me, it wasn't good news. I looked around the room. Panic filled me, Lysander wasn't here, "What happened? Is Sander okay?"

"Shh!" Jaden said, brushing some of my hair behind my ear, "Sander's fine. I left him with Izzy." I calmed considerably, and he sensed it, choosing to continue. "Ivy is dead."

Those words were not on my list of things I had expected him to say. "What?"

"They found her early this morning. I showed up just after they told Dicey." I couldn't help but notice the absence of feeling. I had seen the little girl grow up, but I felt nothing but shock at her death.

I looked past my shock at his announcement and more towards his actual words, "They know about you?"

He nodded, "Yes, It's all okay. They weren't too worried about me. They were far more interested in your Stigma stricken sister."

I grinned, "Sorry, it was either send her to you guys so she'd have a chance to find him or let her kill a few people here."

He hugged me, "She's fine now. She and Seth are with the Cullen's. Oliver is still in the hospital, and Rave went wherever he ran off to."

I snorted, "That's specific."

He laughed, and shrugged his shoulders, "It's not my job to keep up with that man, and he's a big boy."

I settled back into my husband's form, "So, whoever is walking around with Moss is an imposter."

"Yes, Lilly came to the same conclusion."

"How is she?"

He smiled, "Keeping my best friend well occupied. She's a live wire. I've never seen two people more perfect for each other." He took my hand, "I'm so happy for him. I watched them…"

"Pervert." I interjected.

He rolled his eyes, "Stop that. Anyway, they move as one. It's incredible. Every move she makes he echoes. They are psychically connected, and I'm not even sure they…"

He stopped talking. I looked up at him, confused as to the halt in his words. He was staring at me. "What?"

He reached out an elegant hand and touched the skin just under my nose, "You're bleeding." His fingers came away red. My hand flew up to my nose. We both stared at the blood on his hand. This had happened several times before, but never when he was with me.

Suddenly, he was a blur, his body jumping into motion. He pulled my on my hair, tilting my head back. He grabbed a cloth and pressed it to my nose.

He pulled back nearly ten minutes later, seemingly satisfied that the blood flow had stopped. "Are you okay?" He asked softly, rubbing my arm.

"I'm fine." I said, pulling away.

I knew the instant my skin left his that I had answered him too quickly. He grabbed my arm, tightly, but careful not to hurt me, "This has happened before, hasn't it?"

I turned away. He put a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off, "A few times. It's really not a big deal. Most people get nosebleeds."

He made me turn and look at him, his hands firm on my arms, "Holly, you are not most people. In the five and a half years I've known you you've never once been sick."

"I'm fine!" I said, adding an edge to my voice in an effort to get him to drop it.

He didn't. "I think you need to go to your father."

"What?" I yelled.

"I think you should see your dad. He might know something."

And suddenly, I wasn't talking to the man I loved anymore. I was talking to someone who wanted to throw me in a room with the man I hated more than anyone else in the world. "I will not go anywhere near that man. I hate him."

Jaden's face was set, "You're acting like a child. He would take you into his kingdom in an instant, but you deny him. Holly, please. I'm only going to ask once more. Do you want to go talk to your father?"

"No." I said curtly, upset that he was pushing me.

"You know what Holly, something is wrong with you, and the only way I can help you is by taking you to your father." He grabbed my arm, and we dissolved into dust. I lashed out at him when I felt my feet hit the ground. Jaden held onto my hands, leaning forward to kiss me quickly, "I'm going to go take care of things at home. Have your father call me so I can bring you back."

He pulled away and fear flooded me, "Wait!"

He was already gone, a pile of dust on the floor.

Disgruntled, I looked around. I was in a dark hallway. An elevator was at one end, it's music chiming softly through the metal doors, and to the other end, a lightly lit doorway. I had no idea which way to go. I'd never been to my father's home before. "Hello?" I called out, wandering towards the light.

A woman in a nice business suit met me at the opening. She was human, "Excuse me, are you lost miss?"

I nodded, "I'm looking for someone in charge."

She smiled sweetly, "Follow me." She led me into a circular room. Everything was marble, the walls and the benches that lined them. "Wait right here. Someone will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." I muttered as I walked the circumference of the room. I was admiring a statue when I heard the door open.

"How did you get in here?" A hard female voice asked.

I turned around. The vampire looked to be about my age, with blonde hair tied in a tight bun at the back of her head. "I walked in." I answered drawly.

Anger contorted her face, "Don't talk to me like that."

Something about her ticked me off, "I can if I want to."

Pain shot through my head. I heard the girl laugh. I crumpled against the marble wall as I clutched my head in my hands. I let out a scream. I'd never felt anything like this before, not even when I had Lysander. It felt like my head was being ripped open. Through my fingers, I saw a man enter the antechamber, "Jane, stop!"

I clenched my eyes closed, in an effort to lessen the pain. It didn't help, but the spots I had started to see went away, fading into black. My sight was fading, whether from my father's unfortunate gift or simply from the pain.

The girl didn't stop what ever she was supposed to stop because the man kept yelling at her. I couldn't hear what he was saying anymore. The pain was overwhelming my senses. I'd come here to meet my father face to face for the first time, but instead, I was going to be killed by an angelic looking little vampire.

"Jane!" The man yelled again, and I actually heard it because the instant he said it, the pain stopped. I had a killer migraine now, and there were still spots in my vision when I opened my eyes again. A blonde haired man was kneeling over me. My sight flickered. I didn't recognize him, but I didn't expect to be able to identify a blurry blonde blob. I had no clue who he was, until he spoke again, "Holly, what are you doing here, love?"

I couldn't contain the sob that echoed around the foyer. He was my father. I recognized his voice, smooth and slow. He picked me up gently, resting my head on his shoulder and looping an arm under my knees. I let my eyes close, something about him put me at ease. I wanted to panic and ask him who the hell the girl was, but I couldn't.

"You shouldn't have come here." He said, walking with me in his arms now.

"I know." I murmured, trying to keep the world from spinning by taking deep, shallow breaths.

"Silly girl." He murmured, and I felt him press his lips to my head. He held me loosely, but closely.

I felt him sit me down in a chair, and I opened my eyes. My head hurt less. The world didn't spin, so whatever the girl had done to me must have worn off. I was sitting on what appeared to be an ornate throne. "What is this place?" I asked the man who's back was to me now.

"Volterra." He answered curtly.

I wasn't really familiar with the place, but I hadn't thought it looked like this. It was one of the places of weakness in the border between this world and my homeland. There were several, and I knew a little about each. Forks was the newest and most easily navigated, and Volterra was the oldest, connected in the caverns where the Avalon royals had been buried for generations. I had always assumed that it was a normal city and that the caverns were just under it, but this was not a normal building. Without windows it was impossible to tell if we were about or below the ground.

"You live here?" I asked, looking around at the marble that was everywhere.

He laughed, but he didn't turn around, "Yes, little one. This is my home, if you can call it that."

I wanted to see his face. I hadn't taken the initiative to look at it when my head had felt like it was going to explode, but I wanted to know what he looked like. _"I'm not sure you do, brave one."_ I heard his voice in my head again, like I had for the last five years.

"I do." I said, my voice was stronger than I felt.

He turned around. He looked young. Twenty-five when he died at most. His skin was pale, and the dark circles under his blood red eyes gave him the appearance of being ancient. At first, I couldn't find anything in him that I recognized from myself, but I saw it, in the distinct curve of his nose and cheekbones. "You don't look like I imagined." I found myself saying, "I had so many faces for you in my head, but you aren't any of them."

He smiled sadly, "You look just like…"

"My mother." I finished; I'd heard the phrase enough to know how it ended. "I look just like my mother."

He looked ill, "Holly, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." I snapped.

He continued anyway, "I should be. I left your mother, and she died. That is my fault."

"No, it's mine." I said stubbornly.

He growled, and I suddenly remember that he was _not_ one of the Rowan I was used to fighting with. "Hollyhock, we do not have time for this!" He yanked me forward and whispered into my ear, "In about forty three seconds, the entire Volturi will come to this room. I need you to stay quiet and let me talk."

I started to protest, "But…"

"No, Holly, be quiet." He turned toward the arched doorway and pulled me behind him protectively.

"What do they call you here?" I whispered, just faintly enough for my own ears to pick up.

"What?" He said, turning his head to pin me with a look of confusion.

"What is you name?" I asked again, a little louder.

His left eye twitched, something I had been told I did when confronted with an unnecessary question, "Caius." He said, "They call me Caius."

* * *

Hello loves. Did you like it? Hope I gave you all something to review over, and any questions are welcome. Just be sure to log in before you review so I can reply to your review. I'm going to take medicine and go to bed.

Have a good Valentine's Day!

-Jenn


	10. Return To Nature

_**Ha! I'm alive! It's Spring Break, so I'm up in Colorado skiing. I might be able to get another chapter out this week, so reviews help. Enjoy!  


* * *

Return To Nature**_

_**Chapter Ten**_

_**Seth Clearwater**_

Following her aunt's dramatic exit, things had calmed down considerably. Carlisle had taken up a post in the coma ward acting as Oliver's guard, and Jacob had gone back to La Push, promising me he wouldn't say anything to the pack until I brought Lilly for dinner.

Rave had followed after Dicey a few minutes after she left and no one had heard from him since. I had been surprised that Lilly had let him go, but she did.

Alice, Edward, Jasper, Lilly and I had gone back to the Cullen's house. Esme had been thrilled to have Lilly over, and had asked if she wanted to stay with them. Lilly, being polite, had accepted, seemingly unconcerned that her hosts were vampires. I had a feeling she knew more about vampires than she was letting on, but no one pushed her. She was on the sofa next to me, her foot tapping to an imaginary beat.

She shifted restlessly. I touched her arm, whispering, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, and hugged me. "I'm okay." She looked up at me with her clear gray eyes, "I can't stay inside for much longer. I get like this, being inside for too long makes me stir crazy. Lets go do something interesting."

"What?" I asked, tempted to ask her what interesting thing she had seen in Forks that I had missed since I was born.

She smiled, pulling away and grabbing my hand, "You know something that's even better than being with you?" I shook my head. "Follow me." She said, and let go of my hand, running to the door.

Curious, I chased after her, stopping in my tracks. Lilly the human was gone. In her place was a wolf. She was beautiful. Smaller than my pack, she was a little bigger than the average female wolf. Her fur was light brown, and her eyes the same haunting silver.

The look in those eyes told me to follow her, to shift and run with her. I walked into the trees, even though she wasn't exactly human, I didn't want to hurt her. I'd seen enough of the way Sam looked at Emily to know I never wanted to accidentally hurt Lilly. I shifted and turned to go back to her.

She was already there, watching me. _"Come on. You won't hurt me."_ I heard her say in my head, like the pack. I stood, just looking at her.

She walked towards me, her head held high. I was bigger than she was, and she looked up at me with a strange look on her face. She butted her snout against mine, licking the side of my face.

It was strange, being with a wolf that wasn't my sister or one of the guys. I had the feeling that she was laying claim to me like she had in my mother's kitchen. She was amusingly dominant. It was fascinating, how she could be like this when we were alone. I knew it had to do with her family and how they seemed to keep her from the things she wanted, but it was odd. As strange as it was, it was kind of hot.

She pulled back, _"Seth? Are you alright?"_ Instead of answering her, I pushed her over. She glared at me, confusion knitting her eyebrows together. I nuzzled her, and settled in a circle around her, resting my head on her shoulder.

"_I want to stay here, with you, forever. Mine."_ I thought, possessively, and she sighed contently, laying her head on her paws.

"_I love you to." _She thought, and I could feel her satisfaction of my words.

I felt when the exhaustion took her over and she drifted off to sleep.

She was back. It finally sunk in. She was mine, for as long as I could protect her. I shifted, putting my body in a circle around hers. She whined, and pawed my tail under her chin. I laughed, she was adorable when she was asleep.

It brought back memories of the night before she left. She had fallen asleep in my arms on the sofa. Mom had come home and woken me up. She had said that I should take Lilly to my room. That was one thing I loved about mom, she trusted me.

I was probably lucky I was Leah's younger brother. Otherwise, mom would never have let me get away with taking a girl to my bedroom. Lilly hadn't stirred when I'd picked her up.

Now I just sat curled contently around her. This was something neither of us had dreamed of. Finding someone like us had been a farfetched hope. I fell asleep listening to the steady sound of her breathing.

Jacob's voice in my head woke me up, _"Seth, where are you?"_ I responded, and he said he was bringing the pack to get me. Something was going on in La Push.

I nudged Lilly, and she opened one eye to look at me with a cross look. I licked her cheek, and she closed her eye again. Carefully, I disentangled myself from her, going into the trees to change back.

When I was human again, I reached down to untie the running shorts from around my calf.

"You know, you have a really nice butt."

I jerked into a standing position, covering myself with my shorts. I looked over my shoulder. Lilly was standing there, in a thigh length blue dress. "How did you…what are you…" I stammered. She watched me lustfully, and I turned away, pulling my pants on.

I turned back to her, "What were you thinking?"

She giggled, "I was thinking, I didn't know that you all aren't dressed when you change back."

"And you are?" I asked incredulously.

She nodded, "Yeah, we learn when we're young. It's really very easy. Mind over matter." She blushed, biting her lip again, "I really didn't know you all couldn't do that. I'm sorry."

I took her hand, leading her back into the little clearing, "It's no problem, I'm just glad it was you and not someone else."

She laughed again, "You and I both."

"The pack is coming."

She bent over, pulling a blue ribbon from the hem of her striped dress. She pulled her hair up, smoothing it on the top of her head, and carefully tying it with the ribbon. She made it look effortless, but I'd seen Leah try to do the exact same thing countless times, only to fail. She saw me looking at her as she fanned her long hair over her shoulders, "What?"

"How do you make that look so easy?"

She shrugged, "Holly wasn't the best at fixing hair when we were young, and mom was really bad with a hairbrush. I learned to do it on my own. Like a lot of things, it's not hard once you get used to it."

"Like keeping clothes on when you shift."

"Yeah, maybe I'll try to teach you sometime. I've never actually tried to teach anyone how, but it should be fun to try. The maids always did seem to have fun teaching us things."

"Maids?" I asked, once again curious to the past Lilly had been so careful to deftly conceal. She looked nervous suddenly, like she hadn't meant to say anything like that. "Lilly, what is it?"

She looked away, not meeting my gaze before taking a deep breath, "Seth, you've been so great about all of this…oddness…with me and my family, better than I'd hoped actually, but there are something's I think might be a little much for one day. All you need to know is that my family and I are very, very wealthy."

The look in her eyes begged me not to push. I wanted to. Really, I did, but with the look she was giving me, I couldn't do that. "Okay." I said, filing this moment away into my list of things to ask her.

She sighed, "Seth, I hope you're not making a list of things to ask me, cause I will tell you everything when you can handle it."

"How did you know?" I asked incredulously.

She grinned, taking my hand, "Seth, you are my mate, I know you. My parents can read each others minds in human form." She chuckled, "It always made it really hard to evade punishment while they decided, it was in there heads, and they're quick about it."

We launched into a conversation about our parents, and all the things we'd done to aggravate them and how they got us in the end. I missed my dad, but it was easy to talk about him with Lilly.

"Hey lovebirds!" I'd known Jacob was coming up on us, but Lilly hadn't, and she squeaked at his booming voice.

She glared at him for a second before dissolving into laughter. She stood up, and playfully whacked him on the head. "You scared me!"

He gave her a hug, "It's my job. I've got to keep you two on your toes."

She returned to my side with a hop in her step.

"Raven just came back." Jacob said.

"Rave?" Lilly asked.

Jacob shrugged, "Sure, he's looking for you."

"Alright, where is he?"

"Last I saw him, he was down in La Push talking to Sue. How did he even find his way there?" He asked.

Lilly smiled wryly, holding my hand, "I don't know, Rave is a man of mystery. All anyone ever knows for sure is that he's my dad's best friend, and my protector. Everybody loves and trusts him. He's always been able to find me. I guess it's because we're both wolves."

"He's a wolf?" Jacob asked.

Lilly nodded, "Yeah, Rave and I are the last two wolves of Avalon. It's why we're so close. You have your pack, and we have ours, just the two of us. He's…well…he's like a second father to me." She looked up at me with misty silver eyes, "I'm so glad he's going to get to meet you properly."

When we got to Sam's house, we were greeted with smiles. Lilly was quickly whisked from my side into the throng of women.

The guys pulled me outside, all wanting to know what was going on. I didn't notice that Leah had shown up until Paul looked up at the house, "Uh, oh. Guys we might have a problem. Leah's here." I spun to look up, Kim was standing on the porch, making ferocious hand signs. Paul nodded her direction, and she stopped, returning to the house.

"How'd you get that out of all that?" Embry asked.

Jared just smiled, "I just know her." His smile faltered, "Kim's worried about Leah and Lilly…if you get what I'm saying."

Jared, Paul, and Embry started running up to the house. Sam grabbed my arm, "Seth, keep your head, don't lose control. You don't want to hurt any of those women in there."

I nodded, "Sam, I got it."

He eyed me skeptically, "Okay, just remember. She's your sister."

"I know!" I growled, and pulled away from him, going to the house. Jared, Kim, and Paul were standing in the doorway of the living room.

"Have you ever seen a bitch fight?" I heard Jared ask, looping an arm around Kim's shoulder.

Paul laughed, "No, but I think we're about to."

I was about to ask them what was going on when Kim shifted to her left side, into Jared, revealing my sister and Lilly standing face to face.

"I don't like you, girl." Leah said, venom in her voice.

Lilly straightened her back; astonishingly enough, she was taller than my sister. "I don't like you either, but I love your brother. Nothing you say is going to change that."

"He's my brother, you can't have him."

Lilly laughed a bit, "He's my mate. I can have him if I want. You don't own him just because he's your brother."

"He's the only one mom's got left. I won't let a girl take him away from her."

I had a bad feeling that Lilly was going to get hurt if she kept this up, "Leah, I've met your mother. She's a great woman, and I'd like to think that she likes me."

Leah surged forward, "How dare you bring my mother into this!" She yelled, preparing to lunge at Lilly.

In a flash of movement, Lilly dodged my sister, and cracked a hand down in the back of her neck. Leah crumpled foreword, and Lilly pulled her right arm behind her back, pinning it down. Lilly was smiling, breathing hard, but smiling. She put her knee on my sister's back, leaning down to say, "If you recall, I didn't bring your mother up. You did."

"Lilly!" I yelled, and Leah jerked in her grip, growling. Lilly let her go, walking towards me with an anguished look on her face.

"I'm sorry about that." She said softly.

"It's okay." I said, taking her hand.

"Don't touch him!" Leah yelled again. She put a hand on Lilly's shoulder.

An instant later, Lilly's hand left mine, and she grabbed my sister by her neck, pushing her against the opposite wall, "Don't tell me what I can and can not do. You may be his sister, but that won't stop me from killing you. Don't ever, touch me again."

Leah's eyes were wide, and she looked like she couldn't breath. "I may be younger than you, but I am much, much stronger."

"Lillium Morgana Caerwyn Daven!" A booming voice reverberated about the room. Raven, I identified.

The instant he entered the room, Lilly let my sister crumple to the ground, her eyes wide. "Rave! I…I…d…didn't…"

"Quiet!" He rumbled. He strode towards her and grabbed her by the arm. She whimpered slightly, but didn't try to fight against him.

I growled, "Let her go."

He fixed me with a dark glare, "Mind your tongue, boy. There's a reason her parents entrust her to me. We are the last wolves. She needs to learn to control the animal part of her mind."

He pulled her to the door. I started after them, but Lilly shot me a pleading look, "No, Seth. Make sure your sister is okay. Please."

I looked back at my sister torn. Kim was next to her, trying to help her catch her breath. Kim caught me looking, and nodded reassuringly, she would take care of Leah.

I went outside, searching for Lilly's scent. For some reason, I half expected him to be hitting her, but instead, she was hitting him.

He was yelling at her though, blocking every punch and matching her every move. I'd never seen her fight before, but she obviously knew what she was doing. She was crying as he yelled. "You must never use your strength against someone weaker than yourself! Never take your anger out on the innocent! I taught you better than that! Hit me, not them! You could have killed her! Do you realize that? Two more seconds with your hand on her throat, and she would have fallen into unconsciousness. Another six and she would have been brain dead. Give it another four seconds, and she would have been dead."

"I know!" Lilly yelled, tears rolling down her face as she continued to hit him. "I know, I'm so sorry!"

"Do you understand?"

"Yes! I won't do it again! I'm so sorry! I should have kept my cool. I'm just so tired of controlling everything!"

I wanted to run to her, comfort her, but something made me stop. It was such an intense moment. One moment, he was fending off her blows, and the next, he had yanked her into a hug. She sobbed violently, repeating, "I'm sorry!"

He stroked her hair, and looked up, motioning me forward with a hand. I followed. Lilly was a mess, totally gone from reality. He offered the hand to me, "I'm Rave, Lilly's guardian." He smiled wryly, "I'm also her fighting teacher. I also sometimes her punching bag." He smiled good-humouredly. "I'm glad she found you. She's been so lost for so long. I hated seeing her like that."

"What's so bad about her life?" I asked.

Rave studied me for a moment, "Where we're from, people expect a lot from her. It's a lot of pressure for any teenager to handle." He stroked her long brown hair lovingly, "I want you to take good care of her. She's like a daughter to me, and I know that later, she will profusely apologize for attacking your sister. Let her, she'll only feel worse if you don't let her vent. She's a strong girl, but there's only so much she can take. She'll need you."

"What do you mean?"

He kissed her on the top of her head, "I'm not sure everything that's been happening had really hit her yet." He winced, "Now it's hitting her like an eighteen wheeler. Once she calms down, I'll get her to tell you what she's hiding from you."

"What is she hiding?" I asked curiously.

He laughed, "Not happening boy. It's up for her to tell you." He stood, picking Lilly up. Like a small child, she turned into his body. "Here," He said, holding Lilly out to me, "I think you should take her inside. She needs to sleep this off."

Sure enough, when she settled into my arms, she was asleep, her brown eyelashes and face were damp, but she looked relaxed. As soon as Rave's hands left her, she shifted in my arms, burying her face in my shirt.

He caught me with a dark gaze, "Ever hurt her, and I will string you up by your toenails." He smiled warmly as I felt myself pale, "Just thought you'd want to know."

He was a really scary guy. If he was like this and he wasn't even her father, how could I possibly handle her real father?

* * *

Ah, so I hope you enjoyed it! I love Rave, he's great. The next chapter I'm trying to create should tie up some loose ends, so send my muse a review. :)

See you soon!

-Jenn


	11. Oblivion

Whoo!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! I got another chapter out in less than a month!

Let me give you a bit of info:

1. This is a bit of a history chapter.

2. We should all feel bad for poor Raven/Rave and hate Anna by the end of part one.

3. I know I said that this chapter would answer all questions, but it really doesn't, that should be next chapter. This is sort of a filler, but I felt it was needed, so here it is! (It's also VERY long!)

4. Part two is a really strange part, it introduces TWO new characters, Valentine and David Whitehawk. Don't worry, after this chapter, they don't really show up again. It is set mostly in the mid 1800's, but some of it is current day. I hope it answers a few questions. Also, I will tell you now that the boy known as Channing, is actually Raven...

So, with that in mind, I give you chapter eleven. Chapter Twelve will return to Lilly and Seth, and include more question answering...I hope. :)

Enjoy!  
_**

* * *

Oblivion**_

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Part One**_

_**Elaine Davenport**_

The nurse receded quickly, uttering a simple, "excuse me", as she closed the door behind herself. I sat waiting, looking for any sign that my son was going to wake up. There was none. I held onto his warm hand, and listened to his steady breathing.

I knew that sooner or later the nurse would be back to tell me that visiting hours were over, and I would have to leave the solace of my son. I had missed him and his sister more than any thing in the world. For seven years, I had watched as another woman fed them, bathed them, told them bedtime stories and tucked them in. Gods, I had been stupid. Being banished had been a relief.

Raven and I had been together for six months. No one knew, of course. All we shared in public were soft smiles and chaste touches. Well, when I say that no one knew, I mean everyone but Raven's best man, Stone Jesper. He had come to us straight up and told us that if we were going to be lover's that we should at least let him know when he needed to cover for us.

What made that action even odder is that Stone was twelve at the time.

I'd loved the kid. He had followed Raven around for years until he had finally convinced Raven to start training him.

Everything had been perfect. I had a plan. I would simply wait until I became queen to reveal my relationship with Raven. At least, that had been the plan until the deceptively sweet Anemone had threatened me. "You will never be queen, Elaine."

I learned that Raven and Chrys would be leaving to subdue some rebels two days later. I had this horrible feeling in my stomach and had tried to convince Raven not to go, but he said he had to, to protect my brother and I.

It wasn't until a few months later that I finally came to terms with the fact that I was pregnant. I locked myself in my room, and told no one but my father.

When Lilly and Oliver had decided to come into the world, my father was there for me. Everything that hadn't gone wrong, went wrong, when he left to get towels right after Lilly was born. He left me alone, bleeding, with two tiny squalling infants.

Anna had swooped in, hiding her shock behind her calm façade, "Well, Elaine, sister of mine soul, this is a secret." She had picked up Oliver, cupping him gently in her pale hands, "He's beautiful, Elaine. Tell me, do I know his father?"

"No." I lied, my voice weak.

Anna smiled, "That makes this all too easy. You see, Elaine, I want to be queen someday. I also want to ensure than my son is the heir to the throne." She slid a thin letter opener out of the hem of her tunic, "That's why I can't possibly let your son live.

"NO!" I had yelled, reaching for her. Oliver had started crying, and soon, his sister joined him. I was so weak. Labor had taken nearly all of my strength. There was no way I could fight off the Rowan holding a knife to my newborn son.

"Elaine, there is a way that they can both live."

She had posed her idea, and I had no choice but to let her have her way. She knew I was a Broker, and so she left me that day, bloody and more alone than ever, with two pieces of my heart and soul in her arms.

I had told my father what she'd done; she never said I couldn't update someone who already knew I was a mother. He had been horrified, but I had begged him not to let her know that he knew.

I'd spent seven years watching them grow. Their silver eyes and rich, brown hair. Lilly and her vibrant smile and priceless humor. Oliver and his quiet contentment, and his masterful art.

I had killed a man, because he some how guessed that they were mine, and by the rules of my deal with Anemone, I had to take his life.

That's how I ended up in Washington. Sure enough, the nurse came back. I kissed Oliver on the head, and stepped into the cold, Forks night. The sun had almost set, but was still casting shadows across the parking lot.

Suddenly, I knew I had to find Raven. I had to tell him the truth. I had to tell it to all of them.

_**Part Two**_

_**3**__**rd**__** Person**_

"Valentine! Wulf!" The brown haired woman looked up from her garden to the front porch of her home. David Whitehawk stood just in the doorway, looking out over the garden at his wife and young son. "Come, supper is nearly ready."

She smiled at him, and grasped their son's hand. "Channing, go wash up. We mustn't keep your father waiting." The little boy nodded with a smile and ran to the pump to clean up his dirty hands.

Valentine walked towards her husband. He folded her into his arms, her pale skin contrasting sharply with his russet toned flesh. They watched their son run across the open yard. She sighed restlessly. David kissed her neck, "What's wrong, Awentia?" She smiled slightly at his pet name for her, meaning 'fawn' in his language.

She shook her head, "I'm not sure, but I just feel like we're neglecting him."

"What do you mean?"

She looked into his dark eyes. "He's alone here."

David stroked her brown hair, "He has us."

"I know!"

"Than what's the matter?"

"There aren't any other people around here. He's got no other kids to play with, and I just feel so guilty for that. If I wasn't…"

He stopped her stressed rant by covering her lips with his own. "He'll be fine. He's a strong boy."

Valentine shook her head, "No, David, he should be with you, with your tribe. Not out here in the middle of nowhere with me. I'm a danger to you both. Maybe I should just leave. Yeah, you would both be safer." She broke from his grasp. She entered the log cabin with renewed fervor, grabbing a satchel and started snatch clothes from the chest of drawers David had made for her when they had married.

"Valentine. What are you doing?" David asked from the door.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm leaving." She continued to furiously shove belongings in her bag. David grabbed her hands, stilling them above a pale blue chemise she only wore on special occasions.

"Awentia, what brought this on?" She shook her head, but he grasped her face in his hands with large, gentle fingers, "Valentine, please talk to me."

"I went into town this morning." She said, and he nodded, she had been gone all morning, "I talked to Greta in the square and she told me that men were in town last week." She blinked back tears, "David, she said they were looking for a violet eyed woman." Tears fell anyway, "They were looking for me. David, they were mere hours away from here! Greta said that everyone feigned ignorance, but really how long can they not realize I'm here."

David hugged his trembling wife to his chest, "Valentine, when I married you, I made a vow to be there for you. I'm not going to let you leave, and I won't leave you. Where ever you go, Wulf and I will follow."

"His name is Channing." Valentine mumbled into his body.

David laughed softly, "They mean the same thing. Would you feel better if we moved? We can go south."

"No, David. I won't let you leave your family. I know how much your culture means to you." They lived in a secluded area of Washington, miles from the nearest center of modern civilization. David's tribe was off in the hills just to the North of their home, far closer than any other group of people. That was intentional.

When she had first come to this plane, she had stumbled into a tavern, and had been attacked by a group of intoxicated men who had been sober enough to realize that she was a young, pretty girl. David, at the time, had been the only one of his people to speak English, and had been in the town to collect supplies for the coming winter.

That had been nearly eight years ago. For eight years, she had hidden with David. He had beaten the living crap out of the drunk men, and had insisted he take her home to his people in order to care for her wounds. His mother was an older woman, with white hair and a kind, wrinkled face. She had taken one look at Valentine, and had gotten a misty look in her eyes, insisting that the bruised and battered twenty-year-old stay with them.

The truth had come out soon enough, when Valentine felt herself falling for her dark, handsome savior. She had never been meek, and when she was first sure that she might love him, she decided to tell him the truth: She was a Healer from a world called Avalon, and she was being hunted because she was a so-called 'Abomination', a Healer with emotions.

He had taken the truth easily, especially when she reached out and healed a strained muscle in his leg that had bothered him for weeks. They had been married in the eyes of his people three months later. Valentine thought her life had finally settled down, that nothing else could surprise her.

She was wrong. After they had married, David had built them their own home a few miles out of the mountains where his tribe lived.

Valentine had been jerked awake in the dead of night to an odd noise. Bleary form sleep, it took her a few moments to discern what it was. David was peacefully asleep, an arm laid possessively across her hips. It was a heartbeat, strong and steady, a child's heartbeat. She had heard it before from some of the women in David's tribe, but had never expected to hear the same sound from her own body.

David had stirred, and terrified, she had told him that she thought they were going to be parents. He had been thrilled, but the mood was stifled when she reminded him that her kind were supposed to be unable to have children. Just another sign that her hunters were right: she was an abomination.

Channing was six and a half now, with dark raven hair and dark eyes from his father. He shared his parents' strong features, but, like his mother, was on the beautiful side of strong, with full lips, a straight nose and dark, feathery eyelashes. He was built like his father, even as a six year old, he was strong, thin, wiry muscles just waiting for him to hit puberty.

For the last few years, things had been calm. Valentine was easily overlooked. The only thing people remembered about her besides the fact that she was pretty, was her violet eyes. Unfortunately, her most striking feature was also most likely to get her killed. She had made few friends in the town, Greta being the closest, but most people liked her so they kept her secret.

Now she was worried. The men hunting her had never been so close before. David smiled at her, "Valentine, you and Channing mean more to me than my culture. I would die for the two of you."

Valentine let him beat her down. She put her bag up, and ate dinner with her husband and son. Channing and his father went on a run, like they did everyday. In their wolf forms, they could run from their home to the town in just over an hour. That was part of the reason that David always called their son by that infernal name, Wulf.

Things were quiet for another month. In the middle of the night, David shook Valentine awake, "Awentia, get up! We need to leave."

"What?" She asked blearily.

"Sabrion is here, he says that men are coming this way." He sighed, "They're here for you, love. We need to leave."

Sleep melted away. David had already thrown things into her satchel, so she grabbed it and ran to Channing's room. He was awake, but sobbing in one corner of his bed, "Momma, what's going on?"

Valentine cupped his face in her hands, "It will be okay, baby. I promise. We need to leave now."

He grabbed her around the neck, and she picked him up. "I'm scared."

David took the boy from his wife, "Calm down, Channing. Be strong for momma now. Valentine, take Channing and run."

She took their son back, "Where?"

"Seattle. It's populated enough for you two to disappear." David said, his face stern.

Valentine nodded, but then froze, "Two?"

David swallowed tensely, "Yes, I'm going to lead them North to Canada while you and Channing head south."

"No! You'll come with us."

"Valentine, my love, they know about me, but they don't know about Wulf. They will follow me, not a woman with a child."

"I can't let you do this." She whispered.

"You must, Valentine." He walked to the window, looking out it, "Quick, Valentine, they're coming." He pushed her out the back door. She took one look back at him. He smiled, "Run, Awentia. I love you."

That was the last time she ever saw him.

She and her son ran for days. She used her power to keep them both uninjured and awake. They reached Seattle soon.

Exhausted, but still clinging to her son, Valentine searched for an empty house. She found one at the end of a quiet lane. She opened the door, and stepped in. She closed it softly behind and collapsed beside it.

She shifted Channing so he rested against her chest and sat in her lap.

Hours later the door opened. "Excuse me?" The sound of a soft male voice woke Valentine.

Valentine was instantly alert. The man had no heart beat. For an instant, she feared that she and her son would be killed by him, but then she realized that he had no human blood anywhere near his mouth, just a little on his hands. She stood, dragging her son up with her, "I'm so sorry."

The vampire held out his hands in a placating manner, "It's alright. May I ask though, why are you in my home?"

She looked around, biting her lip thoughtfully. "Um…"

"We're running from bad men that want to hurt mommy. Daddy said it's cause she's so pretty." Channing responded, not missing a beat.

The man held out his hand, "Well, I'm glad my home could be of use to you while I was otherwise engaged. My name is Carlisle Cullen."

Valentine smiled. "Thank you very much. I'm Valentine Whitehawk. This is my son, Channing." The blonde man smiled at the little boy who grinned back, "Really, we must be going. So sorry to have barged in like this."

Carlisle shook his head, "No, please, stay as long as you need. I was just about to head back to work within the hour; I'm a doctor you see. I was only home to grab a new set of clothes."

Valentine spent three weeks living in Carlisle's home, unwilling to leave the safety her strange new friend afforded. She told him that she was indeed a doctor from a town North of Seattle. Channing adored the man. He never went in the sun though. Valentine knew why, so one sunny day, she decided it was time for her and Channing to leave. They'd stayed too long already. Valentine and Carlisle had become friends, so she regretted having to leave, but knew it was for the best.

Carlisle stopped them before they got out of the door, "You're leaving?"

She nodded, "Yes, we've stayed for too long already. I won't put you in danger by being seen with us." She smiled at him, "Who knows, Carlisle, maybe we will see each other again someday."

She didn't see him again for nearly a hundred and fifty years. She had felt her son here, in this hospital in Forks, Washington.

"Valentine?" A hushed voice had whispered in disbelief. She looked around, concerned as to who know her name, "Impossible." The voice said.

The man was standing against the wall to her right, his golden eyes wide in disbelief. "Carlisle!" Valentine shrieked, throwing herself at the man.

"How?" He asked, looking her over. Her hair was still that same chocolate brown, her skin just as pale and flawless, and her violet eyes, just as alert and striking. "You haven't changed at all."

Giggling like a little girl, she took hold of his hands; "I could say the same for you, old friend." She gave him a wink.

He suddenly remembered where he had seen those violet eyes recently. The youngest Davenport. What was it Lilly called her? "You're a Healer."

Valentine's eyes widened in shock, "Yes…how did you?"

"A lot of things have changed since you saw me last. Here, come to my office."

He told Valentine everything he knew. When he had described his family, Valentine had smiled at him, "It sounds like you love them very much."

"I do, they're the only reason I have for living."

"I'd much like to meet your wife, she's a lucky woman."

Valentine had told him that she had known he was a vampire all those years ago, and he shook his head in disbelief, "You are possibly the strangest person I've ever met. Where's Channing?"

Her light mood vanished, "I don't know." She explained that they had run for another year, and they had caught up with them once they had tried to go back to Washington. She had buried Channing, putting him in a stasis, like hibernation, to keep him safe.

She had been held captive for a hundred and thirty years by a wealthy man that had been ill, who realized that with her near, he was healthy again. His illness had been so severe that she had been unable to stop from healing him, inadvertently allowing him to live to be a hundred and sixty something.

She had finally managed to free herself from him, and had gotten back to Channing as fast as she could. Only problem was…he wasn't where she left him. He had been there, for nearly as long as she'd been held prisoner, but something had changed, and he had simply vanished from his crypt. She had spent the last twenty years searching for him.

"Why are you here again?" Carlisle asked gently, amazed by her story.

"I felt him here." She began, "He's part of me, and sometimes, I feel this tiny little pull that seems to pull me in his direction. He's been around here longer than he's been anywhere else, I was able to track him down to this area." She looked at Carlisle, pinning him with the intensity of her purple eyes, "Have you seen him?"

He shrugged, "Honestly, Valentine, I'm not sure I would recognize him if I had seen him. I didn't put much time into remembering how he smelled; he was just a little boy. I wouldn't have recognized you if it wasn't for your eyes. I never thought I would see you two again, I haven't thought about you two in decades, with everything that has changed in my life. I would go as far to say I wouldn't have recognized him if he had introduced himself to me." He touched her hand, "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "It's fine, old friend. I'll just look around, perhaps heal a few people while I'm here."

She stood to leave, but Carlisle warned her with a smile, "Now, Valentine, don't go committing any miracles. We don't want the press around here."

She laughed, grinning at him, "I won't do too much. I'll just give those who need it a push in the right direction. I, like you, have learned to be discreet. Goodbye old friend, I'll see you soon."

He hoped so, she was one old friend who he wouldn't mind seeing more of. She had changed his entire view on life. Without her and her son, he might have never had the faith in himself to save Edward, or any of them. She had shown him that he didn't have to be alone. Without Valentine, there would never have been Esme.

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So, kind of sad chapter, but...meh, had to be done. I've put up more pictures on my free webs if you'd like to check it out, I have pics of Valentine, and all the other characters.

http : // london rea 2004. webs. com / nightfallisbliss .htm

Just take out the spaces, and you will have free access to all the character pics and a few detailed profiles. Also, on the site, there are things for some of my other stores, one which is the back story of the whole Elaine/Raven thing, currently entitled, Ready to Run.

Please, if you like this story, leave me some sort of review. I'd greatly appreciate it. :)

See you next time!

-Jenn


	12. Storm

Hello everyone! So, here's another chapter! I'd love to hear what you have to say, so review.  
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Storm**_

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**Raven Magnus**_

The morning after I stopped Lilly from killing the Quiluete girl, I found myself back at the same house. I had spent the night at Elaine's house, but hadn't actually seen her.

The bubbly brown haired girl was hospitable enough, she had made dinner and a whole slew of children had come out of all corners of the large house. Her name was Isavelle, I discovered, and she explained that it was an unfortunate side affect of her father's Romanian accent.

She talked too much, but her flighty babble helped to calm my nerves.

She would be eighteen in a month and a half and when she was eighteen, she and the sandy blond haired boy, Marcus, were getting married. Marcus had been with Elaine the longest, and he had been eighteen for five months.

Isavelle had Marcus fix me a plate as she introduced me to the others sitting around the circular table. "I'm Isavelle, but just call me Izzy. The blond is Richelle."

The blond looked up from the table and flashed me a perfect smile, "Hey! Nice to meet you." Her accent was very southern I noted.

Isavelle continued down the circle, "That's Kellan." The red haired girl was bent over what looked to be an everyday flashlight, and I noticed that when she looked up to flash me a smile, her eyes were electric blue. "Next is my baby sister Darla." The seat next to Kellan was empty and I looked at Izzy questioningly. She giggled, "She's upstairs cleaning her room, she'll be down soon. That is Jeremy." She gestured to a red haired boy who had brought a small device to the table that had his undivided attention. "Then last, but not least is Zaria." A waifish looking brown haired girl glared up at me, her eyes cold and dark. "She's only been here for a little while. Adjusting to new people is something we're working on."

They all seemed so normal that I didn't know why they were with Elaine until I saw the youngest little boy, called Billy, short for William, Isavelle told me, come in and picked up a fork, only to bring it to his mouth as a lollipop. Isavelle had laughed at the expression on my face, "He transmutes things. That's his gift." She deftly snatched up the lollipop from him, receiving a pout from the little boy. She shook a motherly finger at him, "Remember what I said about the lollipops? Don't make me tell your mother that you're ruining her flatware to satisfy yet another snack attack."

The blue-eyed boy gulped dramatically, but smiled brightly, "I'm sorry!"

Isavelle shook her head with a slight smile, "It's okay."

He had looked around, "Where's momma? Did she leave again?"

The girl shrugged, shooting me a dark glance, "I don't know. She left just before our guest arrived. Say hello, Billy."

He smiled up at me, and something struck me as Elaine in him. A cold shiver ran down my spine. Was he really Elaine's son? "I'm William Connors, but you can call me Billy. Everyone does. Are you one of my mommies friends?"

I nodded, "Yes, my name is Raven. Elaine and I are old friends. You're her son?"

He nodded back, "Yup, everyone else really never sees their mommies and daddies, but I've got my mommy with me…" He glanced around again, "Well, at least most of the time. And daddy takes me to his house every other weekend. Unless he's busy with Marie." I wasn't even going to ask, but then the boy added conspiratorially, "She's my little half sister. Daddy married Marie's momma after he and my momma got a d-force."

"Billy!" Marcus called from the kitchen, "Come and get it, munchkin, or the dragon will get the pretty princess."

Isavelle rolled her eyes, but the little boy sprung away, running so quickly into the kitchen that I heard a small thud, indicating that he had skid into a counter with his socked feet, "No! I'll save the princess!"

"So, how do you all come here?" I asked her, still a bit confused as to what was going on.

She gave a dismissive shrug, "We're all a little different."

"Meaning?"

She heaved a sigh, "I'm a technopath, Marcus can become intangible, Richelle can freeze things, Kellan's whole body conducts electricity, Darla is my baby sister, Jeremy has a mild form of mind control called Suggestion, and Zaria is magnetic when she gets angry. Most of the younger ones come from broken homes. Richelle's parents are rich, but live on different continents. Kellan was abandoned when she was six and a half, and Jeremy has been on his own since he could walk. Zaria was ten when her parents were murdered in front of her."

"Oh, alright then." Was the only response I could manage.

We ate dinner in a comfortable conversation spearheaded by the oldest girl. Her sister did indeed show up just a few minutes later, excusing herself politely before introducing herself to me.

Whoever their parents were should never have any more children together. They were both pretty, don't get me wrong, with long brown hair and bright, white smiles on their fair faces, but they were just too sweet, too polite. It was creepy. They were the type of people who could still hold a smile in the middle of the apocalypse.

Isavelle had given me a small spare bedroom, telling it was mine for as long as I needed, with…you guessed it…another smile.

Elaine hadn't come back that night or this morning. Izzy and Marcus had both assured me that it was completely normal for Dicey to leave for days at a time. It worried me though, and I spent the entire night sitting on the bed, searching for my wayward mate through our connection. Her blood was still strong in my system, but I couldn't feel her.

Isavelle had made breakfast, and had then instructed me that she wanted to get to know her neighbors, and that I was to go to the Quiluete's and invite them to dinner. I had refused until she had reminded me that she was a technopath and as such, fully capable of adding me to the worlds most wanted list.

Just as I arrived at the house, Lilly and her not-so-human human were just going inside.

I liked the boy, oddly enough. Yesterday, he had taken Lilly from me and taken her into the house. He seemed terrified of me, rightly so. I was up to speed with his nonhuman status. It annoyed me a little bit. He seemed good for her, but I didn't really like how I was no longer going to be the only one looking out for her well being. I'd found that too often, if you had too many people doing one thing, they ended up tripping over one another.

I'd over exaggerated her reaction to her overload, but he didn't need to know that. She'd probably apologized to him a few times, but I knew she wouldn't let me rest until she was sure I'd forgiven her. I really hoped he'd convince her to leave me be.

I headed into the house right after them and bumped shoulders with the girl Lilly had attacked on the front steps yesterday. She looked over her shoulder and growled. "O, hush." I snapped, tired and muddy from my little stint in the woods. All in all, I was in no mood to deal with petulant young adults. She had cast me a dark look. Fed up, I grabbed her shoulder, "Watch it, girl. If you're scared of her, you should be even more terrified of me. I'm far stronger than she is."

The girl thrust out her chin, "I'm not scared of her."

I laughed, "Leah, right?" The stricken look on her face confirmed what I assumed, "You're little brother is her mate. The sooner you deal with that, the sooner you can spend time with your brother. I can promise you that if she thinks you're going to go after your brother, she won't let you anywhere near him."

Her eyes widened a bit, and she turned away with a huff, going back into the woods.

I knocked on the door of the house. A slight girl with wispy black answered it, a smile on her russet colored face, "Hello?"

She had one hand on the door and the other on the slight round of her pregnant stomach. I couldn't help but to smile back at her. "Hi, I'm looking for Jacob Black."

She looked over her shoulder, "Um…I think he's still here." She looked back at me and stepped back from the door, "Would you like to come in while I look for him?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"I don't." She said brightly as she wandered off into the house.

I walked in too, "The house is lovely."

She laughed, "I know, but it's not mine, this is Sam and Emily's house. Em is out back with most of the guys." She looked me over, "You're the one that came with Lilly, aren't you?" I nodded, "Really, she's lovely. Those eyes of hers are amazing, a person could lose themselves in them."

I chuckled, "Yeah, but she's got a right foul temper."

The girl giggled and I flinched at the high-pitched noise, "That is so cute how your accent comes and goes like Lilly's does. Are you her dad?"

"No." I said, shaking my head vigorously.

"Oh, that's cool." She held a hand out to me, "I'm Kim by the way."

"Raven." I replied, shaking her hand.

"Nice, here, give me a sec to go flag one of the guys down."

She left me in the small hallway connecting the front room to what appeared to be the rest of the house.

I hadn't felt this much peace since the screams had echoed around the castle about a dead body nearly ten years ago. They had found him in a guest bedroom they were preparing for some foreign nobles. He had been stabbed thirteen times in various places of his body.

I had been in the throne room with the queen and her consort, discussing battle plans and defensive measures to take in our next coming battle.

When the first scream rang out, we dismissed it as a maid that had spotted a rat or some other sort of rodent, when in fact; she had found a dead man. A few minutes later, a young girl streaked into the room, "My lady!"

The queen stood, her light brown hair falling loosely around her shoulders. I'd always admired her beauty and grace. "Yes, my child. What seems to be the trouble?"

Her gold dress rustled as she went towards the girl who was staring up at her with wide eyes, "A body." She stammered, "In the East Wing…a dead…man…there was so much blood my lady."

"Who?"

The girl choked on a sigh, "My Baron Carver."

"What?" The Queen said in an unusually improper manner, "Baron Carver?"

The girl was obviously traumatized, nodding slightly, and the queen hauled her to her feet, "Show me. Now."

"Cori!" The king yelled, grabbing his wife by the hand. "Don't. Let the others catch who ever did it first. You'll be in danger if you leave here."

She was always Cori to him, never my lady or Lady Gianna. As her mate, he had certain liberties that he could take with his wife; he could touch her without her permission, and also call her by a diminutive of her second middle name, Coriander. He was smart, and always looking out for his strong willed wife and daughter.

She looked from her husband to the door, letting out a hiss of indecision. "Cori, please." He insisted.

Before she was forced to make a decision, one of my men entered, "We've caught the murderer." He said, but the look in his eyes made him look leery and afraid.

Gianna relaxed immediately, taking her husband's hand more comfortably into her own, "See, dearest, the men have things taken care of, no need to worry."

She kissed him on the forehead like one would a child, but he was just as observant as I, "Excuse me, but who is the culprit?" He asked.

The man looked ill, "Any other time, you might call me a liar, but I swear, my Liege, I am not a spinner of tall tales, I speak the truth."

Now I was worried, "Get on with it, man." I commanded.

He looked from me to the Royal couple. "I shall think myself lying, but the murderer, is thy very own Lady Elaine."

"No!" Elaine's father was the first to respond, "Impossible. She would never!"

My mind was still stuck on what he had said. Elaine? A murderer? "Impossible." I had hissed, echoing the king.

"My Lady!" Someone shrieked from the hall.

Gianna shook her head as if to clear it, "I don't believe it."

"My Lady!" The voice called again. It was my young charge, Stone Jesper. His older brother was a friend of mine, and the boy had been hanging around the Guard since before he could form complex sentences. Now, he was a young man, well…a teenager. He acted older than he was, and even though he wasn't old enough to actually join yet, he was always following his brother, Cole. "Rave!" The boy called, and I heard a dull thud.

We rushed out into the hall. I had my hand on one of the knives I kept strapped to my forearms. I knew my men, and I didn't like the sound of his voice.

We entered the hall to find Elaine, fighting against the two guards that held her, Cole and an older man, Lyle Classen.

They were obviously trying not to hurt her, but she kept flailing against them, "Let me go!" Her voice had been panicky and shrill, more angry than frightened. She had been covered in blood, blood that wasn't her own. "I said, let me go!" She yelled again, kneeing Lyle in the groin. I flinched inwardly.

I looked to the Queen. She was staring at her daughter, leaning against the wall. The king had crouched in front of his little girl, grabbing her face in his hands, "Elaine, what have you done?" She shrieked again and jerked away from him like his touch had burned her. "Elaine, please, love, what happened?"

"Get away from me!" She screamed. Young serving girls and maids were up against the walls, hands over their mouths in shock. A few of them had been muttering prayers in Latin.

"Enough!" Everything stilled. Gianna had pushed herself away from the wall, her entire body shaking. I positioned myself between the two women. As horrified as I was about what Elaine had supposedly done, Gianna was Rowan, and with her body already shaking, I didn't want to let her get too close to the source of her anger. "Release my daughter."

My men let Elaine go, and she sagged to the ground. "Get up." Gianna had said, her voice as hard as the look in her sliver eyes.

Elaine had obeyed her mother, and Gianna had forced her to make a deal. As long as one of her brother's blood ruled, she could not return to Avalon. I had brought her here. The queen trusted me and when I had asked to help Elaine acclimate to the environment I had been an ambassador for, she agreed, giving me three weeks to set Elaine up.

I set up all of her documents, and I had bought this house for her. Before I had become the leader of the Guard, I had used my singularly useless gift to get supplies from the "real" world. Being such, false documents had been supplied to me so I could get a credit card.

She had barely spoken to me that entire time, but right before I left, she begged me to forgive her. I didn't know why. I'd kissed her on the forehead as I'd left, telling her that I was sorry things had turned out like that.

It had killed me to leave her, but I had promised to return, not knowing that the queen would forbid me from seeing my secret mate, "She's been banished." Gianna had said, "We mustn't coddle her anymore. She must find her own path. There is nothing more we can do for her." The stoic woman had actually burst into tears after that, and her husband and faithful son had descended upon her.

I'd waited to get to my own rooms before I let the tears and agony over take me. She was my mate, my only love, and I though I would never see her again.

Now I was back, and instead of trying to mend things with my errant lover, I was running after my wayward charge. Lilly was just like her aunt, mischievous and high-spirited, and sometimes I wondered where she got it from. I respected the queen, but Lilly was nothing like her. I often questioned the seemingly innocent appearance of the late human king.

The very determined human technopath had my attention now. Granted she was using me as a messanger dog, but Lilly was safe at the moment, and Elaine was off the map. I was worried about her, but even now, I held my duty to the young princess higher than my own wants.

"Hey, Raven, Kim said you were looking for me?" Jacob said as he walked into the hallway.

I smiled at the young wolf, "Yes, I have a message to relay to you. Izavelle, I believe you met her the other day, would like for you, and your pack to come for lunch."

Jacob looked surprised, "Lunch? What makes her want to do that?"

I shrugged, "I have no idea, the girl likes to cook, and I think she sees you all as more people she can shove her food down their throats. At least she's a good cook." I tilted my head a bit, "It might of course be that she wants the younger ones to learn how to deal with outsiders. I'm not sure."

Jacob nodded his head, but glanced over his shoulder, "Hey, guys, want to meet our new neighbors for lunch?"

A few boys came inside, some Jacob's age and some several years younger. Lilly walked in with Seth. Most of the boys nodded, and Kim giggled, "I think we'd love to. When should we come over?"

I chuckled at her enthusiasm, "Um…she didn't really say, but anytime now I would assume, she was already firing up the stove and organizing her child army."

Lilly came forward and gave me a hug, "I'm so sorry about yesterday."

I pat her on the head as I whispered, "Don't worry about it, we'll talk later at your aunt's." Raising my voice a bit I said with a laugh, "But right now I have to go back and help Izzy. She said she'd trust no one else with the knives but me. I will see you all soon."

Several of the boys' muttered salutations in my direction as I headed out the door, "Rave." Lilly said, putting a hand on my arm. I looked down at her, into her clear silver eyes, "Thank you."

I shook my head, "It's no problem, little one. It's my job, to keep you safe, even if that means I must protect you from your own stupidity."

She opened her mouth, as if to deny my assumption, but seemed to think better of it. Smiling she said again, "Thank you."

As I left, I thought to myself that she was already growing up, and it was a beautiful sight. She was a strong girl, and smart to, even though she was a bit naïve. One day, liker her father had, she would mature, and be an excellent leader. I only hoped that it was under better circumstances. I could also only pray that we were ready, when the storm I felt brewing rolled in. If we weren't, terrible things would happen.

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I hope you liked this chapter. I had noticed that I hadn't really gone into detail about the kids at Dicey's school so I decided to clear up a bit of their importance. I also decided to add a bit of why Elaine was banished.

Next Chapter:

Lilly is finally going to tell the truth to everyone at Elaine's.

We find out where Elaine went, since she had said she was going to find Raven to tell him the truth.

And also, we find out a little more about Billy.

So, if you're curious, visit my freewebs site. (Link is posted on my profile.) It's got character profiles and pics.

Also, please leave a review if you like my story.

-Jenn


	13. Warmth Eternal: Part I

Here we go! Another chapter. This one is in two parts, this being the shorter of the two, and I have a surprise at the bottom.

I really need reviews at this stage of the game. If you like my Raven/Elaine characters, you might want to go to my Fictionpress. I've got their story up, and have been updating it when I haven't been working on this one!

Read and Enjoy!  
_**

* * *

Warmth**_

_**Chapter Thirteen- Part One**_

_**Geranium Alexandria Coda Daven**_

I walked outside the castle walls, not caring about the rain that was pounding down on me, I wouldn't get sick. The trees were tall and green. Spring had come early this year. I held my shoes in my hands, feeling the grass between my toes.

Holding my face up to the sky and letting my eyes drift closed, I felt the world around me, listening to every heartbeat, every tiny living thing within a hundred miles laid out in a lush map before me.

The rain poured down my neck, drenching my thin dress to it's very core. A young sparrow sat on a nearby rock, cowering in fear from my power. Most creatures did fear me, until they felt my touch. There was something about the touch of a Healer, my grandmother had once said to me while I had sat at her bedside, "That puts the world at ease, knowing that whether it brings life or death, the pain will be over.".

"There, there, young one." I said, picking up the small bird. One wing was broken. It bit me at first, and I watched as a small drop of blood welled up from the wound on my hand before it healed nearly within the same second. Seconds after my fingers touched the sparrow, it relaxed, and rubbed it's small head against my previously wounded hand. Letting my power flow to it, I felt out the injury in more detail. It was an easy enough break to heal. Forcing a small part of my power into it's wing, I fused the two pieces of bone back together.

"Good morning, Princess." Said a strong voice.

I smiled, knowing the man before I even looked at him, "Good morning, Stone Jesper. You know I'd wish you not to call me that. Don't you?"

He chuckled, "Yes, my lady, but it seems foolish that you wish to deny your birthright."

Infuriating man, if I was capable of it, I surely would have been angry with him, "It's not my birthright. We all know that no one will allow a Healer to take the throne. Seems like a waste of a title to me."

I finally finished with the bird, and she chirped happily as I set her back down on her rock.

"Thank you for healing my cousin." He said, "She will surely tell all her nestlings about you."

I laughed slightly, a motion that still came a bit slow to me, "You would know, wouldn't you?"

I felt him step closer, "Yes, yes I would. You do know it's raining, right?"

"Of course" I replied sharply.

"Just making sure."

I heard a rustle of feathers and then the rain stopped falling on me. I glared up at the man, "You didn't have to do that. It's not like I'll get sick or anything."

He rolled his dark eyes and ran a hand through his short black hair, "I know, but on the off chance you might get sick, I don't want it to be my fault."

Stone was to me what Rave was to Holly, Lilly, and Oliver. Stone had a tougher time though, seeing as I never really slept. He'd given up years ago, and had decided just to go to sleep and worry about finding me in the morning.

He was my only real friend. My siblings cared for me, but they didn't know me. Stone was intelligent, and fairly handsome…if I could care about looks. He was terribly self-conscious though, and liked to stick to the shadows even more than Rave did, making us a perfect match. I didn't like big crowds; the people were too needy and selfish.

He had been my guard since before I could even walk. He had changed four months ago though. My father had sent him to help Rave in a rural area of San Gabriel, and he had never been the same.

He was Rowan, as were most of the men in the Guard, an eagle specifically. The people of an ancient tribe had captured him, and, using old magic, had intended to trap him in his animal form…forever. At the last second, he had begun to shift back to his human form. He was now stuck with golden brown wings, locked in a demi form. They were proportional to his body, but when I'd asked him if he'd tried to fly with them he had only glared at me and sulked off.

"Stone have you tried flying yet?" I asked softly.

"No!" was his harsh reply, before he ducked his head, "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve to be snapped at."

I smiled up at him, "Yes, I did. If you don't want to talk about it, I should respect you." I eyed him suspiciously, "However, if you're in denial, it's good to talk. I'm a good listener, you know."

He chuckled again. "You're in a chatty mood today."

I shrugged, "Perhaps. Don't think I'm going to let you change the subject on me though."

He winced, "It was a nice try."

I pat him on the shoulder, "Yes, but as admirable as it was, you still have yet to answer my question."

The look in his eyes was pained, "I really don't want to talk about it." The look changed to one of hope, "Is there anything that…"

"No." I cut him off.

The hope in his eyes sputtered and died. "Please…"

"No." I said sternly, walking out from under the protection of his wingspan.

He snapped his wings closed, and walked behind me, "Why can't you?"

I looked over my shoulder at him, and in that instant he reminded me of the sparrow I had just healed, broken and needy, "It's not my type of magic. They used a binding spell from the ancient times."

"Meaning?"

"Stone, the magic they used on you is unique to their tribe, from the times of Merlin. It's nearly as old as the magic that creates my kind. I may be a Healer, but I can't heal things that aren't hurt." I used the sternest voice I could, tired of talking and ready for him to drop the subject.

"My lady, I'm hurt. Everyday. People stare at me. I'm deformed like this. I don't want to try flying because I know I'll be crushed if I can't."

I lost my temper. A very bad thing. "What to you think people do to me? One look and they run in fear. I know exactly how you feel, so don't come whining to me."

His eyes were wide in fear. I rarely lost my temper, and I never raised my voice. I wasn't supposed to have emotions, and really, I didn't. I was always so calm, but those Rowan got on what nerves I did have. My emotions were muted from what I'd ascertained, my mind far more clinical and cold than the usual human. That suited me just fine.

Just as quickly as the anger had come, it was gone, "Forgive me, that was uncalled for."

He shook his head, sending water everywhere, "No, forgive me. I shouldn't have said those things."

I put a hand on his cheek, "Stone, what I should have said is that I heal physically wounds not mental. I'm sorry."

He smiled, taking my hand in his own and brushing a kiss to the back of it, "Sometimes I forget that you're only eight years old."

I smiled back at him, "I don't. Come, I want to take you somewhere."

I clasped his hand into mine and started walking. He resisted at first, but when he realized I wasn't going to let up, he followed me into the forest. On the way to my intended destination, I found a kit stuck in a hunters trap, and a deer with a painful thorn stuck in between it's split hooves. Stopping to heal them both, I cost us valuable time.

I finally found the split in the veil. "Have you eaten this morning?" I asked my confused companion.

"Yes." He replied, his eyebrows knitted together.

"I'm sorry then." I reached out with the power that allowed me to go where I pleased and gently touched the veil.

Stone squeaked as we were thrown from our world into the other. My powers left me unaffected, but the shift found Stone on the ground vomiting at the end, his wings pressed close to his body.

I patted him on the head, not bothering to make his vomiting ease. He needed to build a resistance.

Minutes later, he stopped vomiting and glared up at me, "What the hell was that?"

"Were somewhere in the middle of the Olympic National Park." I said, I may have a lot of power at my disposal, but my sense of geography was ludicrous. I pulled my little white sandals on.

I grabbed Stone's hand, pulling him north…from what I could tell. I told directions by feeling out the life forces around me. Other people, however liked to have directions with nice, reliable names. It was a never ending battle with Stone, who tried to teach the cardinal directions to me when I had my own ways. His desperation was nearly amusing.

My true destination wasn't far. "My lady, please. Tell me where we're going. I'd really rather not start puking again." He begged.

"You'll see."

"Geranium, really, just tell me where we're going."

"Shut up." I snapped at my whiny guardian, "And I mean it, Jesper, not one more word."

He made a strange sort of noise, something like a dog whine and a coo from a bird. Odd man. He spent the next thirty minutes nervously folding and unfolding his wings as he walked beside me.

It was oddly comforting, the rustling at least kept my still human brain from fretting over the tiniest noises in the forest. As we approached the small house I had been looking for, I felt the sickness. It wafted in the air, heavy and omnipresent. Stone whined again, but I silenced him with an annoyed wave of a hand.

Without fear, I went to knock on the front door. A thin, waifish woman with mossy brown hair answered, "I'm sorry we're not buying…" She trailed off as she noticed my unusual companion.

She was about to bolt in fear when I reached out a hand to touch her, "It's alright, he won't hurt you. None of us will." Like the bird, she relaxed under my touch, "Would you mind if we came in?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't think I do."

I took her thin hand in my own, "I heard your son is sick."

She nodded hesitantly. "Yes, but…"

"I'm here to help." I said, keeping my voice steady. I was a master at comforting the skittish creatures in the world. It was easiest when they were tired or undead, and this poor woman was the former. She looked as though, with one touch, she would fall asleep, something I could do with ease. I needed her awake, however. I wasn't going to force my way into her house like some testosterone-fueled idiot. "My name is Gerry."

"Hello, my name is Gloria."

I smiled at her, "Yes, I know. Please, may I see your son?"

"Yes, he's this way. Follow me." The woman turned away and I started to follow her.

A strong hand landed on my shoulder, "My lady, where are we? Is this safe?"

I smiled at him, "Relax, Stone. You're with me." He scowled deeply, but didn't say anything, instead folding his wings in tightly as to follow me.

The little boy was in a bad way. He was just over two years old, with shaggy white blonde hair. The sickness in him was unbearable. He was unnaturally pale, and his small chest was rising unevenly with each raspy breath. "Hello, Andrew."

"H-how did you know his name?" The boy's mother asked me.

"I know many things." I said airily. "Wake up, young one." When my hand came to rest on the boy's arm, he jerked awake, his eyelids lifting to reveal sea foam green eyes. "Well hello little prince. How are you feeling?"

"He can't speak." His mother rushed just as the boy responded-

"Not very good."

Gloria looked from her son to me, "What…what are you doing to my son?"

I took my hand away from Andrew and grabbed his mother's wrist, "Gloria, I'm going to make him feel better. You must trust me, or he will die in the next few minutes, and there will be nothing you can do."

"My lady!" Stone hissed, and I ignored him, fixing the woman with my violet eyes.

Finally, she nodded, "Please, if you can, help him. He's all I've got left."

I nodded, releasing her and pulling off the thin white jacket I had been wearing, sat to work on the boy. I imagined his illness in my mind, examined it and probed at it with my magic. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, but I sat to healing him anyway.

A few minutes later, and I knew something was wrong. He looked better, the illness was almost gone from his system, but I couldn't breath right. My chest was tight, my breathing shallow and irregular like his had been. I tried to speak, but no sound came. I panicked slightly and looked desperately at Stone when I felt myself begin to fall, "Gerry!" He yelled, lunging towards me.

He caught me, my body limp in his arms. "Stone, get…help." Just as nausea descended, my world faded to black.

* * *

Whoot! So, here's the surprise, I already have the next chapter (Part two) totally finished, so all I need is reviews!

I hope you enjoyed it! Also, do I have any Gerry fans out there?

-Jenn


	14. Warmth Everlasting: Part II

_*Pretty brown haired girl sitting on a park bench with silver eyes looks suspiciously at the brown haired girl next to her who is looking appropriately nervous*_

Lilly- "This chapter isn't goint to make me happy...is it?"

Me-*looks away shiftily* "Well...maybe not..."

Lilly- *Shifts into a gray wolf* _"You want to try that again?"  
_

Me- "No!!!!! I promise, if you let me have this chapter, I promise you some alone time with Seth!!!!!!!!!!"

Lilly- *Shifts back, still looking at me suspiciously* "Promise?"

Me- "Promise."

Seth- *Runs across the park* "YYYEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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Warmth**_

_**Chapter Thirteen- Part Two**_

_**Leah Clearwater**_

I went to the stupid lunch.

Alpha's orders.

My brother and his stupid girlfriend were there when Sam, Emily and I arrived.

"Leah." She said, thrusting out her chin.

"Lilly." I spat in an equally insolent manner.

"Girls…" Sam growled, letting the threat hang in the air.

Lilly slit her eyes to him, leaving the safety of my brother's arms. She stood less than two feet from Sam's imposing stature, and in that one brief instant, I admired her stupidity, "You all need to learn that I'm not one of you. I…"

"Lilly!" The same guy from earlier had a hand on her shoulder, "Hold your tongue, you're being rude. There will be plenty of time to talk once we've eaten." Holding onto her shoulder, he took her inside.

I walked to my brother, "Hey." I said shyly, not knowing how he would react to my spat with his new mate yesterday.

He hugged me, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing gently, "Hey, Leah. I missed you." His voice still cracked every once and a while, and it did so on my name.

"Me too. So you and the new girl…" I trailed off, not really wanting the answer to my own question.

"Yes, Leah. I love Lilly. She's my mate. I'm not replacing you." He said, with an adorable little sad smile on his face.

"Why would you say that?" I snapped.

Seth rolled his eyes, "Leah, you got in a throw down with my girlfriend yesterday yelling about her quote 'Taking him away from me'. Gee…I don't know what else you could have been thinking." I growled a bit, "Leah." He said with a warning tone, "I'm not going to fight you, and if you piss Lilly off again, I can't say what she might do. She's not like us."

"Well gee…thanks for the warning. I hadn't noticed by the way she kicked my ass. You sure pick 'em. What the hell is she?"

He shrugged, "Something called Rowan, she's going to tell more here, I think, but if you are going to be a bitch, I'm not letting you come. Leah, I love you both, and I don't think Lilly would ever 'take' me away. She respects me too much for that. You should too."

Appropriately humbled, I simply nodded, and he grabbed my hand, leading me up to the very Victorian house.

The little brunette thing was standing next to the door, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, "Hi, Leah. I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to hurt you." Her eyes kept shifting from Seth to a spot behind me where I realized the strange man was standing. "Truce?" She held out a hand.

I glanced at Seth, and the look he gave me was as good as saying, "Shake the damn hand!"

I took her hand, and was actually surprised when I felt calluses on the palm of her dainty looking hand. "Sure." I hadn't pegged her as the kind of girl that worked for anything, but maybe I was wrong about her. Well, that would make Seth happy, I couldn't believe what I was going to do. "I guess I'll give you a chance."

She smiled, and for an instant, I saw what Seth saw in her. She really was pretty, at least that's what I saw before she lunged forward and slung her arms around me in an Alice Cullen like hug, "Thank you, Leah!"

I stood stiffly, totally unsure about what to do. The tall, dark man walked by, "It's a hug Leah, not an ingraved invitation. I can get you one though." He growled out and a shiver ran down my spine. I hugged the girl slightly, still disturbed by how the man had sounded. What ever he and the girl were, they sure weren't human. "Come on, Lillium. We've got to go sort this mess out with the vamps and your wolves. If we don't get in there soon, I have a feeling we will be getting Isavelle out here, and I personally don't want to be responsible for delaying her lunch, she seems a bit off. Don't get me wrong, she's a lovely girl, but a bit frightening."

"I heard that." Said a shockingly gorgeous girl from the doorway, "And yes, if you all don't get inside, I'll have Jaden come and get you, and he's not in the best of moods." Her accent was really odd, and it reminded me of the vampires in those stupid movies my brother and I had watched as kids when our parents had been sleeping.

"What's wrong with him?" The tall man asked.

The girl laughed softly, she reminded me of the pixie Cullen, "Let's just say, that Holly just got back from her forced visit to her father…she was less than thrilled." She giggled again, "I don't think he's ever been called names like that. She was surprisingly nasty, even for someone of her nature."

The man smiled and Lilly just looked confused. "So will she be coming out of her room anytime soon?" He asked.

The girl I assumed was Isavelle raised her dark eyebrows, "Why don't you come in and ask him. He's sulking in the den with Sander."

"Who are you talking about?" Lilly asked, just as confused as I was.

The girl bit her lip, "On second thought, you all go into the dining room and I'll go drag Holly out of her room. You tell your story and I'm sure she'll be ready to tell hers. Just got to drag her out of her foul mood first. You all enjoy lunch, and Raven, holler if Marcus becomes too intolerable."

The big man, whose name was apparently Raven, chuckled, "Aye, aye, Captain. Don't worry, I'll keep all the kids from killing each other."

She hopped forward and kissed him on the cheek, like one dear friend to another, "Thank you."

He stopped her, whispering, "Any sign on Elaine." She shook her head, and disappeared into the house. We all followed Raven down the hall.

Lunch looked great. It smelled good too, and I was surprised to see that there was enough to actually feed the Pack. A dirty blonde haired boy walked out of the kitchen scratching his head, "Hey, so you guys are the first here!"

He held a hand out to my brother, "I'm Marcus. You must be Seth. Holly's been grumbling about you enough. You have no idea the fights your best friend has gotten into with her over you. Glad to finally meet you." He looked at me, "Wait…don't tell me…you…have to be… Leah!" He said, sounding like he had just won a game show by answering the right answer to a question.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm Leah, Seth's sister."

"Pleasure to meet you. A sibling of a friend of Jason's is a friend of mine. Isn't that right, Jer?" A red haired boy was sitting in the corner, looking off into space like he was bored out of his mind.

"Yeah, what ever you say Marcus, now can we please eat?"

Marcus shrugged, "If you want Izzy to get all in your face, be my guest. We need to wait until the rest of the guest's arrive." He must have noticed me gawking at the sheer amount of food, "Looks good, doesn't it, and Izzy thought that she didn't have enough. I swear, that girl can work wonders in the kitchen. I'm a lucky guy."

"You two are together?" Lilly asked.

The boy nodded with a content smile, "Yup, we're getting married when she turns eighteen. I'm already building us a house on the property."

"They're here." Sam said a few seconds later.

Marcus nodded, "Excellent! Jeremy, go get Zaria, Rachelle, Kellan, and Darla, would you? I'll go find Billy." He looked to us, "Make yourselves at home, fix a plate." He left, but just as he did so, a girl walked in.

Her hair was just as red as the boy's, but other than that, they shared no features, and he glared at her as he walked past, "I found Kellan!" He yelled.

She smiled shyly at us, waving slightly, "Hi, I'm Kellan."

Sam held out his hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Sam."

She looked at his hand like it was a snake, but then relaxed, looking up at Sam with electric blue eyes, "I'm sorry, I don't really do touching. You see," she held up a hand and I saw blue light flash between her fingers, "it can be a bit of a shock." She must be like the vampire, Kate.

She smiled at Emily, "I'm just about to get rid of a bit of this, so I'll be okay in a moment. I suppose handshakes will be okay once I'm a little less charged." We watched in fascination as she put her hand over an outlet above the counter. She shook our hands after that, shock free, and she started grabbing a plate, urging us to follow suit.

We were sitting in the dining room within the next few minutes; the rest of the pack had arrived, as had the Cullens. A few more kids I didn't know had filtered into the group. A stunning blonde girl had come in with a smile, telling us all in a southern accent that her name was Rachelle and that she liked cold things…I tried not to read into that. A little boy had skipped in and was now cheerfully talking to Renesmee, who at this moment in time looked to be just a bit older than him. The boy named Jeremy had returned and had already staked out a corner to eat his food in private.

Isavelle finally returned with a girl she said was her sister named Darla. Marcus followed shortly after, alone. "She wouldn't come." He whispered to Isavelle, but we all heard it.

She shrugged, "We can't force her. Hold up a second, I'm going to go retrieve the Munchkin."

She came back a few seconds later with a baby in her arms, "Hello, everyone, this is Lysander. He's Jason's baby boy, but his daddy is being a baby and won't come in here to visit." She held that pose, looking at the doorway.

A few moments later, and a blonde vampire walked in, holding out his hands, "Give me my baby, Izzy."

"Nope, you don't get him if you are going to sulk. Besides, you owe me, I've managed to talk Holly down a little, we might actually get to see her in the next decade." The baby giggled and the noise brought a smile to most of us. Isavelle bounced him a bit, "I know, Sander, your mommy and daddy sure are funny."

Carlisle had that look on his face, the one he shared with Edward. They always got so damned excited to see something new, "His mother is…"

The blonde man cut Carlisle off, "Yes, his mother is half vampire."

"May I take a look at him?" Carlisle asked.

The man shrugged, "Sure, whatever. Go ahead, Izzy, pass him around. He enjoys the attention shit."

"Jason, language." Just as she admonished him, the little boy at the end of the table began a chorus of 'Shit!' Isavelle glared at the vampire, and put the baby in Carlisle's arms, heading towards the cursing child.

"Incredible!" Carlisle hissed.

"What?" Jacob asked, we were all a bit concerned by this little boy.

"He seems to be, completely normal…human."

"That's because he is human." The vampire grumbled, "Don't know how it happened, but apparently when you get a full vampire and a halfling together, you make a human. He's six months old. Physically he's…"

"Right on track." Carlisle finished for him. "But he looks to be a bit more mentally developed than a child his age should be. Doesn't he?" Carlisle held up a spoon, and showed it to the baby, "Lysander, can you follow the spoon for me?" As instructed, the little boy followed the utensil with bright, green eyes. Carlisle dropped the spoon, and the boy had a surprised look on his face, bending in Carlisle's arms to get a look. The vampire brought the spoon back up and the boy squealed in delight.

The other vampire had disappeared, and lunch commenced again, along with the poor baby being passed from person to person. When he got to me, Jared instantly reached over to take him from Jacob. They knew I didn't like being close to kids. It made me feel things I didn't want to feel. Lilly looked at me questioningly. "Why won't you hold him?"

"She can't have kids." Jacob rushed.

Lilly looked surprised, turning to my brother to ask softly, "Why not?"

Carlisle glanced at me before whispering to the girl, "She doesn't have a cycle."

"Oh!" The girl squeaked, and then smiled. I wanted to punch her, "Well of course she doesn't! I don't either. It's a Rowan trait."

"What?" Esme asked.

Lilly shrugged, "Well, Rowan feed off the blood of their mate. And if…well if the female is bleeding for a week out of every month or so, how is anyone supposed to get anything done? The bloodlust is unbelievable." She brushed a heated look over my brother, "We can still have kids just fine, take my mom for example, she's had six of us. From what I've been told, you all are very similar to us, perhaps just better suited for this world. Rowan are a bit more connected to our animal forms, we shift at younger ages, but mostly, you all seem to be descended from one of our wolves."

"Fascinating." Carlisle and Edward said in unison. I was still stuck on what she had said. I could have kids?

"I can have kids?" I found myself saying numbly.

Lilly stood, and walked to kneel in front of me. She put her hand on my knees, "Yes, Leah." I found myself smiling; the one thing that had held me back for years was apparently not an issue. She smiled back at me, "You're really pretty when you smile. You look like Seth. I'm glad I was of use to you."

"Thank you!" I said, and was going to continue before I noticed something. "You said I was more adapted for this world. Where are you from?"

The look in her eyes told me that she'd rather not say. "A place far away from here." Her tone was cold, icy even, and she stood back up. "I'll be outside. I need some air." She was gone, impossibly fast for anything anywhere near human.

"Lilly!" Seth jumped up.

"Sit, pup. I'll get her." Raven said, standing up and huffing out the door.

Emily clapped her hands on her knees, "Well, that was nice. Guess we'll find out more about her later."

My brother was on edge, but Sam was looking at the baby, "So, whose kid is this exactly?"

The blonde haired girl smiled, "Well, it's a bit of a long story. Jaden is a vampire, has been for a very long time or so he says, and Holly showed up here a few years ago and they fell in love. Lysander was a big surprise. Holly, she's really cool, and Sander, he's such a cutie." She squeezed the baby's cheeks. He giggled and most of us laughed.

"How the heck did she hide that from her family? Lilly didn't mention anything about him." Seth said.

Isavelle looked surprised, "You didn't realize? Holly is an Illusionist. She's what allows Jaden to go to school. I'm going to go try to get her out of her room again. She can't stay mad forever. Marcus, get our guest's anything else they'd like." She ordered as she left.

Embry looked at the sandy haired human, "You know that you have a really unfortunate name, right?"

Lilly and Raven returned a few minutes later, disrupting the nice conversation that Embry had struck up with Kellan that others had joined.

Raven pushed her into the room a little, "Go, and tell the truth. It's good for the soul."

She sat down next to my brother again, and began with a tense sigh, "I'm not from this world, neither is Rave. I'm from a place called Avalon." She stopped, giving Raven a terrified look.

"Go on, Lilly."

"But…" She said, her voice shaking.

"No, you're a big girl. You can do it yourself." Raven growled out from his spot next to the door. I swear, I'd only known the guy for a few days, but he had the worst time dealing with some really wicked anger issues…kind of like myself I guessed.

"Avalon," she began again, with renewed fervor, "was created by the wizard Merlin from the Isle of Avalon. His magic is what caused Rowan to come into being, so when we started being persecuted by the humans, who called us Druids, he created a place where we and our loved ones could live in peace. I am from a long line of Rowan. I'm also second in line." She stopped, and looked at Raven desperately.

"In line for what?" I asked, not letting the girl off the hook that easily.

She took a deep breath and said, "The throne. I am second in line for the Crown of Avalon. I'm a Princess."

Several people gasped at the news, but I just gaped at my brother. He was staring at his mate like she'd just slapped him upside the head without warning. "No way." He said.

Lilly nodded, and I felt a little bad for her, "Yes, I am the second child of the royal family, the Daven line. That's why someone would be killing members of my family…Rave?" She was looking past the rest of us.

"Something's wrong." He said, in a voice so low I believed what she said about Rowan being slightly more connected to their animal side. "I'm the head of the Guard. I swore my life to protecting my King and his family. Turns out that means baby sitting…" Lilly glared at him and he tilted his head to the side, "Someone's here." His eyes widened and suddenly he was out of the room, "Stone!"

* * *

I'm sad to say, that this part of my story is almost over. Just a few chapters left! I'm excited and a bit sad, but I can't drag it out longer than it should be. I don't think Lilly would let me.

I got this chapter out to you guys under tense situatuations: My Dell Inspiron E1505 won't charge a battery, and I don't know if it's the battery (It's only my third...haha.), the charger, or just the fricken computer. Also, today is my 16th birthday!!!!!!!!!!!! So, yeah for me!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, for my birthday, I want some killer reviews.

-Jenn


	15. Tempus

Hello my darlings! I'm rather pleased with how this chapter ended up. Not too many more chapters left. This chapter starts in Avalien's POV, next one is Caius, and the last one is Carlisle.

This chapter has a nice chunk of info in it, and we get to see a new side of Elaine, as well as her whereabouts...

Enjoy!  
_**

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Tempus**_

_**Chapter Fourteen- Part One**_

_**Avalien Lachar**_

I felt something deep in my bones; finally, after years of waiting, things were falling back into place. I stood, finally, after so many years, knocking the dust off my shoulders and my face, and brushing my hands over my dress.

"Cledwyn." I whispered softly, and the dog at my feet stirred, opening his pale blue eyes. He whined softly, and stood, shaking the dust off of himself. My body was stiff, but I lowered myself to his level, "Hello, old friend. Did you have a nice sleep?"

He blinked his eyes once, and nuzzled my face with his gray and white muzzle. I rubbed his ears as best I could. He licked my hand, "Are you hungry? I'm famished."

He seemed to nod, and I pet him on the head, "Alright then, how about you and I see some light?"

He woofed and ran to the door. I opened it, allowing the dog to bound past me, into the sunlight chamber beyond. The light was bright, but surprisingly, my eyes adjusted quickly. Things had changed slightly, the whole in the roof of the cave was a bit bigger and the floor out of reach from rainwater was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Cledwyn scratched at the door on the other side of the underground atrium. "Cledwyn, stop that." He turned around to glare at me and I sighed, "Give me a moment, you silly thing."

I was thankful that, like my body, my green dress hadn't decayed in the slightest, as I walked across the room, even if it did have blood stained on the bottom half. I took stock of the things in the next room. Nothing had changed here, not even the dust had settled, still suspended in mid air as it had been nearly twenty-two years ago. She was still laying in the center of the room, untouched. Her honey blonde hair was underneath her head, and her favorite white dress was undamaged. She simply looked like she was asleep, but I knew better, she hadn't seen the light of day in twenty-two years.

"Kai." I whispered softly, urging my magic into breaking the spell around her. It was strong, but somehow I knew I was stronger. While I was asleep, my body had healed, and my magic had built up, waiting for the day when the time had come to get into action again. "Kai." I said again, my voice stronger.

In one instant, the room around me changed, in one motion, all of the dust dropped from the air to the floor. And the lovely figure on the stone slab gasped her first breath in more than twenty years, jerking awake. "Hello, Kai." I said softly as to not scare the girl.

Her light green eyes jerked to me, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Ava?"

_**Tempus**_

_**Chapter Fourteen-Part Two**_

_**Caius de Volturi**_

My brother snapped his fingers impatiently, "Caius, are you coming or not? The humans won't wait around forever. They look rather juicy today."

"Aro, leave him be." Marcus sighed, tired of our constant bickering.

"No, Marcus. Do you know who that girl from earlier was? Jane seems to remember her quiet clearly, but our brother has no recollection of her. How do you explain that?"

"Maybe your pet's finally gone crazy." I offered.

He growled at me. I really hated Aro sometimes. He was as petulant as Jane. Had he not looked at her like a daughter they would have been perfect for each other.

Speaking of daughter's…I was going to kill Jaden the next time I saw him. Being around the humans for so long had made him soft. How stupid was he to dump my half human daughter in the middle of Volterra? I was just lucky that I had enough of his power stored up to send her back.

I had only actually seen her once before. Just after I found out she existed, I had gone to her, intending to kill her caregivers and take back what was mine, but when I saw her, I knew I couldn't. She had looked like her mother, even then, long black hair and those dazzling emerald eyes. She had been chasing after a brown haired girl about her age, both screaming in delight.

"I knew you'd show up here someday." A rather pretty blond woman had walked to my side, leaning casually on the fence in front of me, "She's lovely, you know." She gestured to the playing girls.

"Which one?" I asked, glaring at the human.

"Your daughter of course."

"How do you know her?"

"She's being raised by my sister-in-law." She answered restlessly. "I'm Elaine, by the way. You must be Lucian…well Caius."

I really looked at the woman now, in this world, only Ava and her family had called me Lucian, and only Ava had known of my other name.

The blond woman named Elaine shot me a snide smile that was gone as quickly as it came. "I'm sorry about Ava."

"Is it true?" I whispered, leaning on the fence next to her.

"Is what true?"

"Did Ava really die in childbirth?" I didn't really want to know the answer.

"She loved that girl. Even before she was born, she adored her. We became close friends in the few months I stayed in Galon." She hadn't answered my question, but rather quietly confirmed the fact that Ava had been stupid and let herself die for my child. I looked back down at the girls.

The jovial scene in front of us had changed slightly. Now, the girls were throwing punches at each other. I had the distinct urge to protect my child, but I wanted information first. Information that this woman, whom I had a sneaking suspicion was a princess, was going to tell me. "What's her name?"

"Ava named her Celyn, but my stupid sister-in-law refuses to call her anything but her name in the modern language, Holly." The woman answered.

"You don't sound like you like your sister-in-law very much." I responded dryly, concealing the shock of my daughter's name. Celyn had been my mother's name; Ava must have remembered. Why on earth would they call her Holly instead of her name in the Old Language?

"I hate her." Elaine snapped, a fair amount of venom in her voice for such a small human.

"Than why should I allow my daughter to be raised by her?"

"Because, if she stays here, your daughter will be raised as a princess, she'll be far safer that way, and, honestly, Anna isn't a bad mother."

I stopped breathing, "Anna. As in Brianna?"

She nodded, "I hate her."

"I concur. Never liked her, not even back then. What'd she do to you?"

The girls back straightened, "You're like me, aren't you?"

"What?" I hadn't seen the Cullens in a while, and I didn't feel like touching her to see her thoughts.

"A Broker."

This piece of news surprised me. She looked so innocent, but then I looked past her shields and instantly, our minds were linked. Now, I saw the tattooed marks on her face, she just had two, and they were just as thin and dainty as the rest of her. I knew now, that when she looked at me, she would see that my entire body was covered in the marks, save for my neck, face, hands and forearms.

"Guess that answers that question. Now, what did you want to tell me?"

She leaned back on the fence. "See the little one with the brown hair?" She gestured to the field where my daughter was running. She must have been talking about the girl with Celyn…Holly, rather. I nodded, "Her name is Lilly. Officially, she's Anna's daughter, but biologically…she's mine."

The pain in her silver eyes was raw, "How did that happen?"

"Anna threatened my son. He's the one off in the corner of the yard, Lilly's twin, Oliver. They were barely a half hour old and she held a knife to his throat."

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it. It's over now. All I can do is watch my little ones grow up. I'm content with that for now. I would have screwed them up by now, I'm sure. Anyway, enough about me. Ava told me to watch over Holly." She sighed, "We became quiet close, Ava and I, in the months before she died. She told me about you. She said you were like me. She was so special. I didn't even tell her that I was a Broker, but she knew. She told me that she wanted you to have a friend you could tell everything, and someone to tell you that you have to leave Holly here."

"Why?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

"Do you know what happened to Cledwyn?" At first, I had hated the dog that Ava's brothers had gotten to protect her, but after a while we had come to a mutual agreement on the fact that we both wanted Ava safe. I sort of loved the husky, in an odd sort of way. He had certainly tested my patience in the months before he learned how to open Ava's back door to go outside in the morning, though.

"Actually, not so much. After Ava died, he ran off. No one has seen him since after her funeral."

"And Neidr?"

"What?"

"Neidr…the snake she had living under her house. He was sort of a pet of hers."

"I never saw a snake around there."

And now, the blasted girl was coming here. I could feel her, getting closer. In a matter of seconds, she would be in the antechamber of Volterra.

"Caius!" I recognized her voice, stupid female, what was she thinking? I wasn't really surprised by the fact that, when she came into the room, her unusually long blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and she was wearing a black suit. She also had the vampire look, pale skin and red eyes. She looked strangely lovely. A Broker trait, we could blend in fantastically well. She would even have a small amount of vampire strength, just enough to be outwardly convincing. "Caius!" She shrieked, glaring at me with ferocious intent.

"What?" I yelled back.

She stopped, giving me a little smile, "Well, looks like you can hear well enough now." She threw the little black clutch she had in here hand at me. I caught it, and it made a surprising thud into my hand. "You must not have heard me the last time we met that I wanted you to come visit next time you got bored with your dried up prune." She shifted her glare to Athenadora.

"Rain, please, not here." I urged, falling quickly into her little scheme. She was a quick one. Her bad start to adulthood had made her stronger.

"No, Caius, I think it's far past time you leave this place and come to me." She slunk closer, and brushed her lips over mine, "I'm so much better than she is, I know." Elaine was a wonderful actress.

"Who is this lovely creature, brother?" Aro said, sliding back into my line of sight…unfortunately.

She spun around, holding out a hand, "Rain Devon, at your service my lord."

He kissed it, and I knew his gift was sliding across the glass that protected our bonds, and picking up only the memories we had created for this purpose. Neither of us were stupid, we knew there might come a time when she came in contact with my brothers. Even to Marcus, or relationship would be protected. They would only know what we allowed them to.

We had both forced past our embarrassment to create a scene in which it looks like we get "together". She was pulling that card now, probably showing him the nitty gritty. She was incorrigible, like a child really, and she had wiggled herself into the room of my heart that previously only my real sister had resided in. Sofia was dead, had been for a lot longer than I had. Elaine was like her, blond, and absurdly happy until you ticked her off.

She was tense now, had been for the last few months. Ever since her infernal brother had come back to Forks. She did a good job covering it up though.

Aro shifted his gaze to me, "Brother, you have been busy. Although, I do admit, she is quite a beauty." He ran a hand under her chin and she tilted it up, looking like a cat. He had lust in his eyes, and it sent a flash of fury through me.

She gently pulled his hand away, "I'd ask you kindly to not touch. I may be sleeping with a married man, but I'm not a whore." She gave me a sultry look, "Isn't that right, Caius?"

I pulled her away from my brother and into my arms, wrapping them around her waist. "Yes, love. Brother, may my lady and I have a moment to speak in privacy?"

"What about me!" Athenadora shrieked. I had almost forgotten about her, "He's my husband! Aro, you can't just let this…this…woman take him!"

I was about to crush her thoughts when Elaine seemed to fly apart, "How dare you talk about me like that! How pathetic are you that your husband won't even stay in the same bed as you?"

"Whore!" Dora yelled.

Aro stepped between them, "Ladies, enough! Caius, take your friend to your quarters while I calm Athenadora. I will not stand for this sort of disruption. I trust you won't be staying long, Rain Devon?"

"No, my lord, I'll leave as soon as Caius tells me what I need to hear."

"Come, love." I ushered, pulling her towards my rooms.

"We have a problem." She said when I motioned to her that it was safe to talk.

"No…I hadn't guessed. What's wrong?"

"I think I know why my nephew killed his sister."

"What? You have a dead niece?"

"Yes, and I think I know why!" She just stared at me.

"Alright, I'll bite. Why?"

"Old magic!" She said exuberantly. I wasn't following, and she knew it, "Caius! Nigel is a Leech, right?"

"Yes." I answered cautiously.

"There is a ceremony that you do as a first born royal to accept your future ascension to the throne."

"I recall."

"Rowan usually do it right after they turn. I did mine after my Mae dod I oed. It's meant to preserve the line of succession. What if, when Nigel did it, it rejected him?"

I mulled her theory over, "Yes…that might be a possibility. And he would have wanted to consolidate power so he could take over the kingdom when the real heir comes forward. You might be right."

"I know! But, Caius, I need your help."

I had a sinking feeling I knew what she wanted, "Elaine, no."

"Please, just a few!"

"Elaine!" I lowered my voice, "Please, don't make me do this. I can't do this. I said I wouldn't make them get involved."

"Don't tell me no, Caius. You owe me."

"For what?"

"I've looked after your daughter for nearly her whole life while you sat on your throne bossing people around. Please, do this for me. Help me save my daughter and son. They are all I have."

I softened, "Elaine, you have Raven. You know that."

"Don't try to rationalize me out of this, Caius."

I smiled at her, "I'm too smart for that. Please, little sister, don't..."

"No," She cut me off, "You come. I want you to come." She fixed me with a particularly pathetic look in her silver eyes.

"Fine. I'll come, I'll bring a few others, those I can trust. Chelsea, Afton and Renata, probably."

She slung her arms around my neck, giving me another platonic kiss, "Thank you, Caius."

"You know I would give anything for you, you're my best friend." I told her, squeezing her shoulders slightly.

"I know." She whispered before heaving a great human sigh. "I should go." I nodded in response, and she pulled back, "Same place?"

"Outside the Vatican? Of course." She smiled and headed out the door, letting her Rain persona take over, yelling at me as she left Volterra. "Chelsea?" I called, and the female appeared, "Go get Renata and your mate. I have a job for you all, and tell Aro we're leaving.

_**Tempus**_

_**Chapter Fourteen- Part Three**_

_**Carlisle Cullen**_

A man with wings was holding Gerry Davenport in his arms, "Rave! Help her!"

"What happened?" Raven asked as he skid to a stop next to the winged man.

The younger man put the girl on the ground, holding his hands up in shock, "I don't know, one minute she was healing this little boy, and the next, she's on the ground. Rave, I swear, she said she was fine!"

Raven looked at the younger man with fire in his eyes, "Stone, I'm your commander. I want a report, not emotional jumble. Right now, she's not Gerry, she's just another Royal. Now, tell me again."

"She brought me to a house just outside of the forest where a young male was near death. She healed him, but as he got better, he got worse." The man named Stone said, clutching one of the little girl's hands.

This entire situation lasted only a few seconds, they spoke fast, defiantly more than human. I knelt next to them. The youngest Davenport's eyes were wide and she was gasping for air, making tiny noises in her efforts. "Edward, what's she thinking?" I asked, if she was truly as powerful as they had made her out to be, she should know what was happening…in theory.

"She can't breath…obviously, she doesn't know why, but she says another healer is nearby and that we need to find her." My oldest son answered from behind me.

"Another healer, impossible." The winged man said, "She's the first Healer in nearly a hundred and fifty years." His voice was agitated, and I wasn't surprised when his eyes glossed over slightly with Jasper's power.

"He's right, Healers were nearly legend until she was born. It's the violet eyes." Raven said. I was glad to see he was sensible and had kept his cool, then again, it was probably the reason he was the commander of their military.

"Actually," A voice I knew, but no one else did, said, "There is one other Healer. Me." Valentine strode into the circle of vampires and Rowan. She knelt next to me, flashing a smile, "I told you we'd see each other again, Carlisle. Give me a moment with the little one and then you can make your introductions, please."

She pulled the little girl away from the two men and I, putting the girl's head in her lap, "Hello, Geranium. You got a bit in over your head this time, didn't you? Don't try to speak, just listen to me. You need to calm down. Breath with me." She drew deep, steady breaths, encouraging the girl to do so as well, "Geranium, you've been attacked by a very rare virus. It's actually a bit of old magic, and it uses an infected human as bait, and when a Healer draws it away because they can't heal it within the patient, it attacks them. I haven't seen anything like this in more than a hundred years. Fortunately, I'm here, and I know how to get rid of it. Sadly, it requires the life of a small animal, but thinking of all the lives you have the potential to save, it's well worth the sacrifice. I'll have you fixed up in just a moment, and then we can chat."

Everyone stood, looking on in silence as the color returned to the child's face. "Thank you." The girl said, her voice oddly vacant. She didn't sound like any child I'd ever been around.

"No problem, love. Now, Carlisle, weren't you going to introduce me to your lovely family?"

"Yes," I said, startled slightly by her change in direction. "Everyone, this is Valentine. I met her about forty years before I turned. Valentine, my wife Esme." The two women shook hands. "Our oldest son, Edward, his wife Bella. My other sons Jasper and Emmett, and their Alice and Rosalie."

She shook each of their hands, stopping at Alice a few seconds longer when my daughter whispered to her, "You might want to look at the others."

"What?" Valentine asked, and I was slightly amused to see the confusion on her usually calm face. She began scanning her violet eyes over the wolves. She gasped when she saw Raven, "Channing?"

* * *

Teehee, yet another cliffhanger...sorry about that guys! I hope this chapter answered some questions! More to come! (Did I mention SUMMER VACATION is nearly a week from now?)

-Jenn


	16. Reparations

Hello, my ducks! Here is another chapter for you. It's summer, so I should be able to finish this thing up pretty shortly. I'd love to hear what you all think about this chapter.

Enjoy!  
_**

* * *

Reparations**_

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_**Lilly Davenport**_

The Healer flung her arms around Rave, "At last!" She yelled, crying and laughing at the same time. True to his training, he didn't move. I'd always enjoyed trying to get him to move as a child when he was on duty, but he seemed to have this place he would go to in his mind when he needed to concentrate or hide in the shadows. He was in that place now. I wanted to yell at her to let him go, but before I could say anything, she did so.

She had a crushed look on her face, "Channing?" She said softly.

He looked down at her, his dark eyes expressionless, "My name is Raven, not Channing. Who are you?" I still didn't know why he was calling himself Raven, but I really didn't care. He was still my closest friend and mentor.

"Your name is Channing." The Healer insisted, "And I'm your mother. I've missed you so much."

I knew him so well that I knew what he was going to do before he actually did it. Anger flashed behind his eyes and he grabbed the woman by her neck, "That's not true. I was abandoned. If you are my mother, why did you leave me?"

She didn't struggle to breath. She was a Healer, she really didn't need to. "Please, it's a long story. All you need to know is that you were born to Valentine and David Whitehawk over a hundred and fifty years ago. I'm Valentine. People were after me, and I put you in a stasis to try and save you. But when I came back to get you. you were gone. I can only assume that your gift caused you to pass through the boundary, and my stasis held for another hundred and twenty or so years. I'm so sorry I didn't come for you sooner, but I can't go back to Avalon."

"Why not?" He growled.

"Because, I'm a wanted woman. You are the commander of the Guard, no?" He nodded in affirmation, "If I were to go back, you and your men would be instantly alerted and ordered to kill me."

She suddenly looked at me. Rave growled, "Stay away from her."

The Healer ignored his protest, but before she could touch me, Seth jerked me out of reach, "What's your name, young one?" She asked.

"Lilly." I said softly, wondering why I wasn't afraid of her.

"Channing, your daughter is beautiful." The Healer said, and it took me a second to realize that she thought I was Rave's daughter.

"No, I'm not his daughter…"

"Yes, yes you are. My blood runs through your veins just as surely as it does his."

"Impossible! I'm the oldest daughter of Anemone and Chrysanthemum Daven." I yelled at her.

"Na, un bach, yr ydych yn fy wyres." _No, young one, you are my granddaughter. _She said calmly.

"Rydych yn gelwyddog! Mae hynny'n wallgo!" _You are a liar! That's insane! _I yelled, refusing to believe the woman's crazy story. Seth looked at me with an adorably clueless look on his face, "Welsh. I speak fluent Welsh. It's what we call the Old Tongue."

"Welsh?" He replied. I nodded, and slid my hand into his.

"Cara 'ch, Seth." I said, "That means I love you." I supplied after getting the clueless look again. We would work on that. I still looked back at the Healer, "I'm the Rowan princess, second in line to the throne. I am not Rave's daughter."

The Healer shook her head, opening her mouth to protest before closing it again, "Why don't we just ask your mother?"

"My mother?"-

"Anna?"-

Rave and I said at the same time. Everyone followed the Healer's fixed gaze.

"Lucian! Stop that! Give it back!" We heard a voice yell from in the forest.

A male voice answered, "Come on, sister, you can reach it."

"I'm not that tall!"

"Shh…I feel them."

"Crap!"

"Shhh!" The male voice said again.

A few moments later, two blond haired people joined the massive group in the clearing. Before I could even register that the female was my aunt, most of the Cullens had flashed to subdue the male. "Caius!" Edward hissed, "What are you doing here?"

The male vampire held up his hands as best as he could in surrender, "I'm only here to protect what is mine. My mind sister and my daughter. I'm on your side."

"Your daughter?" Carlisle said as Edward said, "Our side?"

"Yes, I'm not here to hurt any of you. I'm here to protect my daughter and her family. However much I might like to kill her husband at the moment." His golden red eyes focused on Jason.

The vampire thrust himself forward, bowing onto one knee, "My lord, forgive me. I…"

"I don't want to hear it, Jaden. You put my daughter in imminent danger. It was reckless and thoughtless, we will discuss your actions at a later date. Now, please, Cullen family, would you kindly release me?" They didn't move. The vampire sighed, "For God's sake, I'm not here to hurt any of you. Elaine, please, tell them I'm with you."

My aunt had her arms crossed, leaning against a tree with an amused look on her face, "Actually, I'm enjoying the look on your face." He gave her a look I'd gotten from Nigel a time or two when he had gotten in trouble for something I had done. "Fine." She acquiesced. "He's with me, trust me, he wouldn't dream of hurting any of you while I'm around. Please, I trust him, and remember, my charges are out here too. And trust me on the fact that none of them stand a chance against him."

"You know what his gift is?" Carlisle asked her, intrigued.

She snorted, "Yes, old man, I know. I have his gift. He's my brother in power. We are the only two of our kind."

"Brokers." A voice cut in. Rave. His hands were clenched along with his teeth, "Than I guess that means he knows all of your secrets."

I saw fear flash into her eyes, but she thrust out her chin in defiance, "Yes, he does."

For an instant, when Rave slung a pointed finger to the Healer, I thought he was going to shift unwillingly he was so angry. "This woman first say's that she's my mother, then she say's that Lilly is my daughter and that you are her mother. What do you have to say about that?"

All color drained from my aunt's face. "Raven." She whispered, her voice barely carrying to my ears across the clearing, "It's not what you think." She choked out, her voice cracking.

"Damn it, Elaine!" He yelled, his body shaking. "I swear to God if you tell me it's true, I'll…"

"I'm sorry. It wasn't by choice. I would never have done that. It's a long story and I can't…" She looked helplessly to a stunned Rave. "Raven." She said as big fat tears fell from her silver eyes, my eyes. Rave turned his back and walked away. I was too stunned to move. She was my mother?

"That's what he meant." I heard myself whisper, and it was a second before I actually knew what I was talking about. Oliver. Horror gripped me.

I ran, ripping myself out of Seth's arms. I had to get home. My brother knew, had known. Everyone thought I was the impulsive one, but I wasn't, not when compared to my brother. My temper flared more easily and more frequently, but he got angrier, stewing for months at a time before unloading on me about everything he was upset about. Normally, I interceded in his anger, covering it with my own stupid action, but I'd been selfish, focusing on Seth and ignoring my brother.

If he knew, it was only a matter of time before he blew. He was an Unfounded Rowan, I reminded myself now. I ran faster. The unfounded were killed shortly after discovery, I knew that, but I had been so blinded by my need for Seth that I had ignored it, ignored him.

I knew Seth was following me, I could feel him. "Lilly!"

"I have to go back!" I yelled.

He caught up to me, grabbing me by the back of my…his... jacket. "Lilly! Where are you going?"

I was crying, "Seth, please, let me go."

"No, where are you going?" He said, his dark eyes filled with worry.

"My brother. He knew that she was our mother. He tried to tell me. God, Seth, they are going to kill him. I have to save him."

"No, I won't let you go back!" He said, putting his hands on my face, "Lilly, stay with me."

"Please, Seth, don't make me choose. He's my brother. I can't choose. Not between the two of you." I kissed him, "Seth, I love you, but he's a part of me. He's my twin."

"Lilly." He started, but then kissed me again, "Okay, but I want you take me with you."

Not what I was expecting him to say. "No." Was my only response.

His face fell, "Why not?"

"I won't. I will not take you there." I saw the fire in his eyes that I loved him for. "Seth, it's too dangerous. Shifting over is painful enough, and you…Seth, you're not like us. You aren't Rowan, not really. I can't take the chance of you getting hurt. Avalon isn't a field trip. Some places, I must admit are calm and peaceful, but civil war is tearing my world to pieces. Take Stone for example, Gerry's guard. He has wings. He will forever be stuck between forms because he was captured by a group of humans with druids on their side. He could have fought back, killed them all, but he stayed true to his word of honor and let them hit and abuse him. It wasn't until they started the spell to bind him to his eagle form that he resisted."

"It was my fault. Gerry wanted to take a walk, and I snuck away from my guards to go with her. Stone is really young for a member of the guard, near your sister's age, and he was too busy watching two of us on his own when they came for him. He could have died."

He shook his head, "Lilly, I can protect myself against vampires! I think I can manage a few humans."

"Seth." I groused, but I was out of excuses for him not to come.

"Please, take me with you." He said, forcing me to look at him, "I won't lose you again Lilly. Those were the most horrible days of my life. I don't want to feel like that again."

"Okay."

"Please…wait…really?"

I nodded, "It's obvious I'm not going to get you to let me go, and wasting time arguing with you. I need to save my brother, and honestly, I need all the help I can get."

"Count me in." I heard Rave say from behind me. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he was my father, but it all fit. I'd never thought I wasn't related to my mom and dad, but I don't think I'd ever totally thought the issue out. This felt natural, like I'd known it all along. Rave and I had always been close, our personalities similar, guess now we know why. My aunt…well, Elaine, being my mother, was, really hard to come to terms with, partly because I didn't know her. To me, she was a distant, foggy memory from my childhood.

"What?" I asked.

Rave brushed a hand over my hair, "I've committed treason by kidnapping you. It can never go back to the way things were. The way I see it, me supposedly being your father is just another reason for me to protect you and your brother."

"You didn't kidnap me, I kidnapped you." I retorted.

He studied me closely. "It seems so obvious now. You are just like Elaine."

"No, Raven, she's proud and beautiful and good. She's just like you. She's nothing like me at all." My…mother…said, looking a little bedraggled.

"I don't want to talk to you right now." Rave growled.

"Raven, please, we need to talk about this, about us." She pleaded. I stepped back, giving them a bit of room.

"Elaine, there is no _us_! You made that abundantly clear by not telling me we had children."

"Raven, you don't understand. I didn't have a choice."

"No, you had a choice, you said no one knew until Anna did, and that wasn't until after they were born. You had nine months to tell me. You chose not to."

Her silver eyes fell to the forest floor, "I couldn't make you give up everything you'd worked for."

Rave was getting really good at pinning women to trees because he had Elaine against a tree before I could even register that he had moved. "You made that decision for me! I would have done whatever it took to be with you. I would have done anything to protect you. You are my mate, Elaine. I might not have told you then, but I didn't think it really mattered. You knew I loved you. Or did I not make that abundantly clear that night before I left."

'Eww.' I thought, that was more than I needed to know. I looked away, studying the faces around me. The Cullens, each more beautiful than any person I'd seen before, the wolves of Seth's tribe, his sister, and all of the kids Elaine took care of. With a small smile, I noticed Stone and Leah staring at each other with miffed looks on their faces.

Seth suddenly grabbed my hand. I turned around, just soon enough to see Rave's clothes burst away from his shifting body. Elaine stayed against the tree, looking terrified.

Rave howled, and it seemed like it shook the surrounding trees. Elaine whimpered. He ran at her, knocking her down before sinking his teeth into her shoulder. She screamed in pain. The Quiluete wolves started kicking off their shoes, "No!" I shrieked, stepping in front of them all, "Don't. No one else needs to get hurt. Let him be."

I knew what it looked like: Rave was draining the blonde human of her lifeblood… That wasn't what was happening. Rave was drawing a card that I would never, ever pull with Seth. "She'll be fine. He's only asserting his dominance. She's his imprint, he's an Alpha, she needs to know that he's in control. He did it once when I nearly got myself killed when I was eight." Elaine whimpered a little, her fingers digging into the thick wolf hair. "Granted, he didn't actually draw blood, but it still hurt and scared the living crud out of me." I added.

Carlisle wrinkled his nose, "Her blood…"

"Lady Elaine is a Broker. They are the living undead. She can't die, her blood has always smelled odd, even when I was a boy." Stone had pulled himself away from staring at Seth's sister and was now next to Esme Cullen.

"Lady Elaine?" The vampire asked, "How long have you known her?"

Stone smiled fondly, the first truly positive expression I had seen on his face in months, "My brother became a member of the guard around the same time as Rave. My family and I live in court, so I was forever following my brother, Cole, around, and he was always with the Lady Elaine. They used to fight terribly when I was a boy. I saw more than most people. I knew they were together. I used to cover for them too. Cole and I, our parents died the year after he joined the guard, so after that, Elaine was sort of a mother to me." He looked at me sympathetically, "Give her a chance, my lady. She might not have done the best that she could, but she's certainly tried to make amends." I hadn't heard Stone speak that much in years.

"Alright?"

He smiled softly, "Look around, Lilly. She did for these children what no one else has ever done for them. Not one of them could have fit in without some control over their power." He looked back at Leah, "With your permission, my lady, I'd like to stay here."

"Of course." If he wanted to, I didn't care, and judging by the look he was giving Leah, he wouldn't be alone.

Gerry finally emerged from her deep discussion with the woman claiming to be Rave's mother, "Stone, please, try the wings. You might be surprised. I'm told that cliff diving is a pastime in La Push. Reminds me of a book I once read, Maximum Ride. I think you can do it. If not, at least Leah will be there to save you."

Seth looked at Gerry oddly, "You've read Maximum Ride?"

The little girl nodded, "I'm rather fond of Angel. Too bad it's fiction, we could be great friends."

Seth shook his head, a smile on his face that made me want to kiss him again, "A little mutant healing girl that reads Maximum Ride…I've truly come full circle."

The other wolves all laughed, and I was still trying to figure out what maximum ride was.

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Ahh, poor Lilly, she's out of the loop, but then again, so was Seth. Hope you liked it!

Review!

-Jenn

P.S. I don't speak any Welsh...it was Google translator...sorry if it's wrong.


	17. If I Die Today

Woot! So, here's another chapter! I love summer, I wrote all of this since after I posted the last chapter.

This is the end of part two of my saga. Yes, I thought it would have a few more chapters, but this chapter just seemed like a good place to stop. Part three will start fairly soon, and I will post a link on this story to update you of the title. Thanks for being on this ride with me, and I hope you take this last curve with me.

Enjoy!  
**_

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If I Die Today_**

**_Chapter Sixteen_**

**_Seth Clearwater_**

My head was still reeling the last hour had been filled with more information than I could possibly sort out without writing it down…which I've just done…in my head:

1. Lilly is the heir to a throne in a different world.

2. The scary wolf-man who threatened me was her father.

3. Said scary wolf-man was actually with her faux aunt who is actually her mother.

4. Lilly's little…cousin had read Maximum Ride.

5. Said cousin is apparently a Healer and nearly died from some sort of Healer virus.

6. Lilly speaks Welsh.

7. Who speaks Welsh anymore anyway?

8. Caius of the Volturi actually has feelings.

9. Said feelings led to a daughter. (Eww)

10. Said daughter is now glaring at said scary vampire…in effect looking scarier.

11. Said daughter just so happens to be Lilly's adopted sister…err…cousin.

12. Understand my confusion?

"I don't want you here." She growled out. Holly had just walked into the fray, her green eyes hauntingly empty.

Caius grinned at her, "Now, now. Aren't you happy to see me? After all, I am your father?"

She was in front of him in an instant, obviously half vampire speed. She surprised all of us when she punched him. "Bastard!" The Cullens were so stunned that he flew backwards, out of their arms with the force of her punch.

He straightened his black clothes, "Actually, Holly, my parents were married. As were your mother and I."

My sister snorted, "You? Married?" She whispered under her breath.

"Leah!" I hissed.

Caius looked pained, "Yes, contrary to your simplistic belief, I am capable of loving another creature. I love my daughter, and I loved her mother more than anything in the world. When she died, I died."

"Again." He added.

"Casineb i chi! Mae'n eich bai bod hi'n marw." She yelled.

_Again with the Welsh! Enough already! _I thought.

"Holly." Caius started, "Please, I know you hate me, but we have other things to deal with."

"None of which will happen tonight." Elaine said. I studied her, wincing at the bite marks on her shoulder. She was wincing too, but held her torn shirt to cover them when she saw me looking, "I'm fine, Seth. It's getting late, I think it's time for the kids to get to bed."

"Dicey." They all whined in unison…excluding the immovable Isavelle. She just tutted motheringly and grabbed a child or two by their hand, pulling them towards the house, "Go on. Kellan, get Zaria and Billy, would you?"

The red haired girl nodded, but the youngest ran out of her grip. "Mommy!" He launched himself at Elaine.

She hissed in pain but caught the little boy, "You need to go to bed, baby."

His blue eyes studied the gashes in her shoulder, "Momma, you're bleeding. Did someone hurt you?" He asked, looking up innocently at her.

She sucked in a tiny breath, "No, baby, I hurt someone." He gave her a look that told everyone he didn't think his caretaker could do any wrong. She looked at Lilly, who gripped my had tighter, "Lilly, this is your half brother, William."

I could sense Lilly's shock over my own. "My brother?"

Elaine nodded, setting the little boy on his feet, "Billy, go say hello to your sister."

The little boy smiled, and ran towards us, "Lilly!" He hugged her legs, looking up at her with big blue eyes, "I've always wanted to meet you." He studied her face while she just looked at him blankly, "Momma always said you're real pretty. She was right. You've got Momma's pretty eyes. I wish my eyes were silver. But I've got my Daddies eyes. He's got real pretty blue eyes. So does my little sister, Katty Marie."

"Katie, Billy, Katie. Her name is Katie Marie, not Katty Marie. You don't need to go confusing the poor baby. Now, leave your sister alone and head on up to bed. You're dad will be here to pick you up in the morning." Elaine said.

The little boy squeezed Lilly's legs, "G'night, Lilly. I've always wanted a big sister." He said before breaking away and running to catch up with Izzy, who was holding a hand out expectantly, which he took.

"I. Have. A. Little. Brother!" It took me about three seconds to figure out whether she was excited or angry. Angry. Definitely angry.

"Yes." Elaine said, and we all heard Raven howl in fury. I didn't blame him; just the thought of Lilly having a kid that wasn't mine sent a wave of fury through my body. "Lilly, you and your father have to understand. Dan brought me out of a very dark place. I'd been here a year, barely managed to get myself a job as a social worker. He's a construction worker. In fact, he helped me build this house. He's a good man. We were married for a year, had Billy, but I couldn't love him. Not the way he deserved. One day, he called me out on it, and we went our separate ways. No hard feelings. He has his new wife Aimee and their daughter Katherine Marie. We have shared custody of Billy."

"What does my brother think about all of this? Does he even know where he comes from?" Lilly said, and I took her hand back in an effort to calm her.

"Billy knows where I come from." Elaine said, turning her back to go towards the house.

"Than he knows what you've done? Did you tell him what you couldn't tell me?"

"No, I couldn't, for the same reason I couldn't tell your father. All I was able to tell him was that I had two other children. He knows how to speak the old language. He rather enjoys it actually, having something that's just between the two of us. But, enough about that. Lilly, you must be exhausted. We've all talked straight through dinner, but no doubt Izzy has left something out for those that are hungry. You're all welcome to stay the night, there are plenty of rooms." With that, she started walking away.

"Lilly, you need rest." Came the soft voice of Gerry a few minutes into the following silence, "You all do." No one moved. "Alright, then at least go inside. It's about to start raining." She huffed. The Cullens declined, heading home, but most of the pack followed Lilly and I inside.

Elaine had disappeared, but, as promised, Izzy was setting out some fruit and cheese, "Help yourselves. All the rooms are taken upstairs, but there are plenty of rooms down here. I know it's a lot to process. Best I can do is to keep you all fed."

"They need rest, not food." No child should ever sound like that.

"Gerry, don't be rude. They'll sleep after they've eaten." The woman named Valentine was apparently still with us.

An electric flare could be felt when their violet eyes met, "No, they need to sleep." And suddenly, half of the pack had slumped over onto each other, asleep.

Valentine looked at Gerry with wide eyes and then to Lilly, "You've got a powerful little Healer on your hands."

"But you had to heal her earlier." I pointed out.

Valentine forced a small smile, looking at the girl who was busy putting blankets over the sleeping pack members. "I've never seen such a young Healer with this much power. She's nearly overflowing with it. If I had time to teach her the things I know, she very well may be able to bring back the dead." She looked back to Lilly and I, "You best find a place to get comfortable before she knocks you out. It wouldn't be good to be standing."

I nodded, pulling Lilly over to where my sister, Sam, and Emily had been abruptly crashed out. I laid next to my sister, pulling Lilly down next to me. I wrapped my arms around her, breathing the scent of her hair.

"Seth, I'm scared." She whispered. "What if I can't save Oliver?"

I kissed her gently, "I know, but I'm here, we can do this together."

I barely heard her say, "I love you." Before my eyes suddenly felt heavy and sleep overtook me.

"Daddy?" A soft voice greeted me in my sleep. I jerked up, finding myself sitting in a car. "Weren't we going to go visit Grandma Sue?"

"Megan!" I yelled. Finally, another dream.

She looked younger than before, maybe by a year or so, her hair was shorter, and she was wearing a green dress. "Yes, daddy. I'm Megan. So, are we going to see Grandma Sue or not?"

"Um, yeah." I said, starting the car. I drove home. It wasn't far.

Megan looked at me oddly, "Daddy, you do remember that Grandma Sue lives with Grandpa Charlie, don't you? Aunt Leah and Uncle Stone live here."

"Yeah, I…uh…just wanted to see my sister." I fumbled.

She cocked an eyebrow, "Alright." She said as she unbuckled her seat belt. "I hope you remembered to bring your Kevlar, cause with the baby on the way, Aunt Leah has gotten real unhappy. I'm glad I was too young to remember the first one." Megan hopped out of the car and I rushed to follow her.

Leah had kids? With Stone? "Well I guess that explains the looks." I mumbled and even halfway up the front steps, Megan looked back.

"Did you say something daddy?"

Incredible. "No, go on. I'm right behind you."

"Cara 'ch, Tad." Yes, I remembered that phrase!

"Cara 'ch, Megan." She grinned at me and opened the door to the house that was apparently now my sister's.

"Megan!" I heard Leah yell. "I didn't know you were coming! I thought everyone was over at the Cullen's."

"We were going to go see Grandma and then we were going to go there, but daddy wanted to come here first." I heard Megan reply.

I went inside, and just stared at my sister. She was definitely pregnant. She looked healthy, and she was smiling. I hugged her tightly. "Seth! What's gotten into you?" She said when I didn't let go. "Seth, I mean it, let me go. I already have to pee as it is. This kid keeps playing soccer with my bladder."

I let her go, "You look great, Leah."

"Thanks." She said, giving me a look that said she questioned my sanity. "I feel like I'm carrying a watermelon around." She looked it too. "I was just about to head over to mom's to take her to the Cullen's. Want to just meet us there? It will save you a trip."

"Um…sure."

"Tori!" Megan yelled. She looked at her aunt, "Aunt Leah, where's Tori?"

My sister shrugged, "She was in the den with Sander not five minutes ago, trying to get his mother ready." Megan turned around and ran to the living room.

"Sander, Holly's here?"

"Yes, Seth, don't you remember, we've been playing 'Pass the Near Comatose Half Vampire Around' game for the last few months, after Izzy had Peter." Leah was looking at me like I'd gone crazy.

I walked through the kitchen and into the living room. Holly was there alright, but she wasn't. Her hair was limp, her skin paper white, and her eyes, blank. She didn't even appear to know what was going on around her. "Momma, come on, we need to go." A blonde haired boy was pleading, Lysander.

"Holly." I whispered. She didn't even blink.

"Uncle Seth!" Cried the young teen boy, running to hug me. He was tall, certainly not near Megan's age at all. "Are you going to the Cullen's?" I nodded, "Cool, Mr. Carlisle says he might have a stronger drug for momma. He thinks it might work this time!"

"Yeah, Seth, could you save us all a little bit of trouble and carry her to the car?" My sister asked.

"Sure." I muttered, and picked up the black haired woman. She had no body weight at all. I could feel bone just beneath the skin. I put her in Leah's car and put on her seat belt.

Leah stood on the porch, watching, "It's such a shame. She seemed so strong, but, you know, after Jason died, she sort of just snapped. You've seen her when she's off the meds, running around, trying to kill herself. She doesn't want to live any more, and she won't even do it for her son. Poor boy, he loves her, but he's never really known her. He was only a baby after all. I'm just glad that She's never tried to hurt him. That would crush him. He wants so badly for her to get better, but I don't think she will." She flinched and held her stomach, "Well, enough about that, standing here won't get us all to the Cullen's. I'll bring Megan if you want me to."

"Um…sure."

She rolled her eyes, "Gee…thanks little brother. Sticking me with a five-year-old daughter, a seven-year-old niece and a thirteen-year-old boy. It should be fun."

I held up my hands, "Hey, you offered!"

"I know, I know. Now, go on."

I obeyed, driving to the Cullen's with a million thoughts in my head. How had the age gap between Lysander and Megan changed so much? Guess Lilly and I put off kids for longer. What about what had happened to Jason. He had been my best friend since I had transferred from La Push. Everything seemed so great for everyone else in this dream but Jason was dead, and Holly was so depressed she was nearly comatose. Their son would grow up without both of his parents. I would find a way to change that. I was just so thankful that Megan seemed to be okay.

I sat outside the Cullen's house in the car. Someone tapped on the window. A girl with brown pigtails was standing outside the car, glaring at me with gray eyes, "What are you doing?" I heard her say. "Get your butt inside. Momma's waiting."

"Jenna, what are you doing out here?" A woman said as she came through the front door, "Oh, hey, baby, I didn't think you were coming until later." Lilly. She was beautiful. Her brown hair was longer, she was taller, a bit more curvy. She smiled at me, walking towards the car. "Jenna, why don't you go inside and help Aunt Alice shove Nessie in that dress." She giggled, "You'd think the girl didn't want to get married tomorrow."

The girl who was apparently my older daughter scampered off. We followed slowly, stopping at the bottom steps of the house, "I saw Holly today." Lilly grimaced, "Why doesn't Jasper just make her happier?"

"Seth," Lilly hissed, pulling me to sit down, "Jasper has been dead since the battle in Avalon." Well that hit me like a tone of bricks. "I know you know that, Seth." She put a hand to my forehead, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah! I'm fine. Just a headache, so, please, just humor me, who else did we lose?"

She looked like she was going to go screaming for Carlisle, if he was even still alive. She took a deep breath though, and I pulled her body closer to mine, "Jason, Jasper, Paul, and Rosalie."

Paul? Rosalie? "What happened?"

"Seth, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, Lilly, I'm fine."

"If you say so. Well, when Oliver turned on us, he stabbed Paul because he was the one who was protecting Nigel. Gerry was too far away, and he bled out in only a few minutes. And Rosalie, god, Rosalie. She was rather attached to Moss so she was protecting her. They got the two of them separated from the group and before we could get to them, she was dead. We barely saved Moss."

"Are Emmett and Alice alright?"

"Seth, it's been nearly thirteen years. Alice and Emmett are together. They brought each other out of a very dark time." She stood up, "Really, Seth, what is wrong with you. I know you weren't at the battle, but you've been told before."

"Lilly, I'm fine, but, would it be alright if I lay down for a moment?"

"Of course, but aren't Charlie and Sue coming?"

"Lilly, my girl! I'm already here! Ms. Sue is getting a ride with her daughter." Charlie looked well, certainly older, but jubilant.

"You look happy." I commented.

He smiled wider, "Of course, it's not everyday that my granddaughter gets married. Speaking of granddaughters."

"Grandpa!" The girl named Jenna cried, bursting through the front door again.

"Jenna!" She jumped into his arms. He grunted, setting her on her feet but still hugging her, "How's my favorite crime stopper?"

"I'm good, Grandpa Charlie!" So my mother and Charlie must have gotten married. Good for them…except that meant Bella and I are stepsiblings. "Grandma Esme is cooking dinner. I'm so excited. She never burns anything, not like when you or Aunt Leah try to cook. Come on!"

"Hey, Charlie?" Lilly said, just before he walked away with our daughter, who seemed to be just as beautiful as her mother.

"Yes?"

"Could you tell everyone that I'm taking Seth upstairs? He has a headache, I think an afternoon nap will help."

"Sure, no problem. Feel better, Seth."

I nodded, and they went around to the back of the house while Lilly took me inside and up the stairs. We went into a bedroom.

Curled up on the bed together I asked her, "Lilly, would it have made a difference if I had been in Avalon with you?"

She sighed, "Honestly, yes. There was so much chaos; one more person was all we needed to free up some people."

"Then I'll be there. No matter what?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing, Lilly. I'm fine. It will all be okay."

"Okay, just don't make me have to call Carlisle out on you."

"You won't need to. Now hush, I want to take a nap."

"Alright." She rolled over so we were spooning and held my hand. I was just about to drift off when she rolled back over halfway, "By the way," she whispered, pressing my hand to her stomach. "It's a boy."

I jerked awake with her still in my arms, but in her mother's house. Everything made sense now. I had to keep my cool and do what ever it took to go to Avalon with everyone else. And now I knew something. Lilly had said that Oliver had killed Paul. It all made sense now. Oliver was the killer.

THE END

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I hope you liked it, and if you did, please, review. If you have any questions at all, feel free to message me or review.

Sorry about my chronic cliffies, but I just can't seem to stop myself.

Thank You so much for reading, and I hope everyone is having a great Summer.

-Jenn


	18. Part 3 Info: In The End

Hello loves! So, the last part of my story will be called...for now... In The End. For your patience, here's a peek at chapter one.

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_**In The End**_

_**Chapter One  
**_

_**Lilly Davenport**_

I woke in Seth's arms.

I was warm. His breaths were deep and steady.

I stared at his face, the tan skin and his ruggedly handsome features. That's when I realize just how profound an affect he has on me. Just his presence makes the whole world seem like it's just between the two of us and that nothing else matters.

Then my brother seeped back in my mind. The truth was something I was having a hard time to swallow.

"Lilly." A voice hissed from somewhere across the room. "I know you're awake."

It was Holly, she was freaky that way, hearing by the sound of my breathing that I was awake. She used to show up in my room in the mornings when she needed to talk to me at the exact moment I woke.

I carefully extracted myself from Seth's arms. He moaned and tightened his arms around where I had just been laying. I waited for a minute, making sure he was deep asleep again, before moving. I stood, observing the bodies strewn around me, each heaving heavy sighs of restful sleep. I knew that under normal circumstances, most of them would have been awakened but my…cousin's…magic was keeping them asleep.

Naturally, I nearly tripped over Leah on my way to the kitchen. We had a tense peace. The last thing I needed was to trip over her and wake her up.

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I love all of my reviewers, and I can't believe I'm about to start on the last leg of this journey. Thanks for sticking with me and I love to hear what you guys think.

I'll see you on the other side,

-Jenn

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***********Change, the title to part three will actually be In Between, not In The End...Thought I'd let you know. (7/12/10)************


	19. In Between: It's Up

The third part of my saga is up, entitled, In Between. There are three chapters up and more to follow soon, please review if you like it!

-Jenn

A sneak peek at the story that will follow the end of Lilly and Seth's:

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_"Touch me I'm cold, unable to control_  
_ Touch me I'm golden and wild as the wind blows_  
_ And tumbling tumbling, don't go fascination"_

I woke up slowly. I couldn't remember what happened the night before. It was all so foggy, coming in little spurts:

The party, I went to the party with my boyfriend.

Shoving Max off me when he tried to get my pants down.

Him laughing and handing me a cup.

The drinks…they were…spiked.

Max forcing himself on me later, angry enough to punch me when I fought back.

_"If just for tonight darling, let's get lost_  
_ If just for tonight darling, let's get lost"_

The pulsing lights and music making me dizzy as I leave the house.

Walking down the street barefoot in a daze, my cheek, and a scratch on my shoulder bleeding.

Calling someone on my phone.

Embry, driving up and jumping out of his car looking angry as hell.

Feeling safe in his arms as he carried me up his front steps.

Burning from the heat of his body as he moved over me, skin to skin.

_"Let me come closer, I'm not your shadow_  
_ With our eyes shielding from the oncoming counts_  
_ It's not hard for us to say what we should not"_

My stomach knotted and my eyes flew open. I sat up, hearing a groan from beside me, and wishing I hadn't. Embry was sprawled across half the bed.

The white sheet was wrapped around me, mocking me silently. I pulled on it gently, relieved to find that none of it was still attached to the bed frame or under Embry.

"Oh God." I muttered. "What have I done?"

TBC

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The song is from the Eclipse soundtrack, entitled "Let's Get Lost."

Review!


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